General Hux - Mr Cellophane Extraordinaire
by MissyMaestro
Summary: General Hux deserves a little love once in a while.
1. Chapter 1

Hux perched at the edge of the bed, knowing very well this was the tipping point and Ren would very likely murder him in an agonizing way.

The woman in bed beside him was snoring softly, the sheet pulled up just over her bare breasts, her long scarlet hair fanned out around her. Last night it surrounded and enveloped him as they'd wildly fallen into his bed, moaning and fucking like it was their last night alive.

Massaging his neck and shoulders, he leaned back against the pillow. The things they'd done! Just the memory of it gave him an erection and he couldn't help but be pleased with the plethora of new experiences, though he couldn't fathom what it was she said that made him agree to their romp. _How did this even happen?_ Hux stroked his whiskers and struggled to recall his thought process. Something strange had come over him, indeed.

As his fingers worked the sore muscles in his neck, they traced along a tender spot he could only assume was a purple and brown blossom of a hickey. Her passion and uninhibited desire left him exhausted and sore in places he didn't know existed. Beside the small violet bruises and bite marks across his chest, long scratches down his back stung in a strangely pleasant way. Heat rose in his cheeks. Yes, the Supreme Leader would truly murder him.

The redhead beside him rolled over and sighed in her sleep. She had been worth the dangerous affair, to be sure, and he'd long dreamed of bedding her, but never in Hux's life had petty matters like desire usurped his will to survive. Gemma, she was called, was too much of a risk to ever consider. She was a Knight of Ren and the Supreme Leader's second in command in Dark Side matters. Fortunately she was not a naive fool like Ren's scavenger girl, no. Hux always fancied her for her cunning and intellect. What made her appealing made her doubly off-limits and now the general would have to face the dire consequences of playing with one of Kylo's toys.

He stared at the black ceiling and wondered again how this situation had even happened. It was all so unlike him...

Suddenly his door slid open. Unannounced and unabashed, Ren strode in in a storm of annoyance. "Gemma. How did I know I'd find you here?" he barked as he spotted the ruby hair. When he saw Hux scrambling back under the sheets to cover himself, his lip curled.

"Good morning," the woman cooed as she stirred. She sat up and the sheet fell away, exposing her nude body. She stretched and yawned, rubbing her eyes and cracking her neck.

Hux sucked in a breath, but Ren's expression remained unchanged. Instead of ogling her perfect breasts and magnificent legs as she climbed out of bed and padded across the floor to her clothes, still puddled on the floor, his eyes narrowed as if he was disgusted by her very being.

"Perhaps you could give us a moment, Ren," Hux offered hesitantly, hoping to grant her some semblance of privacy. He immediately regretted the comment. Had he truly just told Kylo to leave? He blinked in confusion. Something was certainly misfiring in his brain. This was _not_ how Armitage Hux played his cards.

Ren regarded him for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't have a moment to give. Gemma. Get out," he warned her.

Gemma wrinkled her nose. "Master, you have no sense of adventure. Just because you don't have any fun doesn't mean I can't." She pulled her dress back on and strolled to the mirror to smooth her long hair. "What good is all this if you don't use it?" She eyed Ren for a moment. "I won't let _myself_ go to waste."

Offput by the comment, Ren scowled harder. "I'll deal with you later."

"Please," Gemma scathed back at him. She threw a scandalous look over her shoulder at Hux and smiled to see him watching her, slack jawed. Her lip curling into a wicked smile, she crawled back onto the bed and cozied up against him. "I'm not done with my general." She kissed him as her hand wandered down his torso. Ren immediately reached out and used the Force to drag Gemma from the bed and across the floor. Her heels squeaked on the tile as she struggled against her master's power. "Leave me alone," she laughed as she came to a halt before him. "What's it matter to you what I do with him?"

" _Get out."_ The tone of Kylo's voice dared her to disobey.

She swallowed hard before huffing and storming into the corridor.

The door slid shut again and Ren leaned against it. He looked to Hux, who was still trying to grasp the situation. Their eyes locked, Ren's amber and his own blue. The Supreme Leader's gaze was more intense than usual, though it seemed like an impossibility. _This is it,_ Hux thought in horror.

"I told her to leave you alone. She deliberately disobeyed me. Are you okay?" Ren asked solemnly.

Hux swallowed and felt confusion wash over him further. "Whatever do you mean? It wasn't unwanted by either participant, I assure you," he sputtered, uncertain why Ren's blame was falling on the opposite party.

"Hux." Ren rubbed his brow and then crossed his arms. "We're not friends but I can't pretend this wasn't abhorrently wrong. She used her power to weaken your resolve. She raped you." He studied the general's expression with a foreign look in his eyes Hux had never seen.

Hux shook his head. "No. I- I've wanted an encounter of that sort for some time. I only ever refrained because she is your subordinate and-"

"Exactly. You've always refrained," Ren cut him off. "I won't have anyone using the Force to connive officers into sex. Are you okay?"

Suddenly shivering, Hux stuttered, "I- I suppose I _don't_ remember _why-"_ he trailed off and pursed his lips. "But it can't be an assault. I enjoyed it. Let's drop this embarrassing matter and-" he trailed off once again. It was as if someone were turning a dial in his mind back and forth rapidly from one extreme to the other. Pride. Shame. Ecstacy. Danger. Satisfaction. Regret. Joy. Horror.

Ren crossed the room and sat on the foot of the bed. He held up his hand, but then inclined his face and asked, "May I?"

Feeling ill at a sudden wave of churning emotions, Hux nodded. "I don't feel right." He closed his eyes and felt Kylo push into his mind, searching for who knows what, perhaps replaying the memories from last night.

"You were putty in her hands," Ren commented angrily. "I'm sorry." He backed out of his mind and cringed. "Do you need to talk to a counselor, a-"

"Stop," Hux snarled, humiliation flowing from every pore. "I- I- I might not have decided this on my own, but I'm no victim. I wanted her." The words weren't false, but they felt like poison in his mouth. He cried out in frustration. By now his voice had risen to a hysterical shriek. He glared at Ren. "What are you doing to me? Something's not right in my head!"

"Hux," Ren said firmly. "There's no shame in this. She's powerful and has nearly succeeded in doing the same to me." He thought for a moment, then reached out and touched Hux's bare shoulder, hoping the act would have some sort of reassuring effect. "I was in your mind. This wasn't your fault. Desire isn't an invitation for unwanted sex."

Hux's mouth moved wordlessly, then he simply nodded. "What's happening to me?"

"When I sent her away, her enchantment broke. It's wearing off. This is how you really feel." Ren took a deep breath, then nodded to himself. "Her fate is sealed. I'll execute her myself."

"You're killing _her_?" Hux breathed. "I thought you'd kill me for fucking your knight."

"No," Kylo snapped. "She's too dangerous to banish. She's always had these cruel urges. I didn't think she'd actually do it." He heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm so sorry. I feel responsible."

Hux tried to catch his breath. "She only fucked me. You don't need to kill her."

"She raped you."

Hux gritted his teeth. Truly, he was beginning to see Ren was right. "When I woke it was thrilling but the longer she's gone from me, I- I-" He stroked his lips. "I never wanted to do those things- I – they're against my principles." His skin crawled. "I'd never do such violent things to a woman – I'd, I'd _never-"_ The memories were no longer tantalizing, but horrifying. "Can-" Hux whispered after a moment. "Can you make it so I don't remember it at all?" Goosebumps ran down his torso and arms and he looked up to Ren with pleading eyes. "Erase the night from my mind. I beg you."

"I can," Ren answered from his spot at the foot of the bed. "Is that what you want?"

Hux nodded violently. "Yes, please. I- I could have hurt her."

"Lie back. You'll come to with no idea what happened last night and I'm sure you'll blame me for it." Kylo grinned humorlessly and Hux offered a solemn chuckle in return. "I imagine you're right," he replied. "Thank you."

Kylo held out a masked hand and softly said, "Don't be afraid."

A moment later, Hux took a deep breath and studied the man before him. _"What are you doing in my quarters?"_ he roared. "And _where are my clothes_?"


	2. Millicent

**A/N: One of my friends is Team Dohmnall and she's rubbing off on me. I want to be General Hux's bff.**

As much as he truly, desperately _wanted_ to, Armitage Hux couldn't bring himself to hate the girl.

There had never been anyone more out of place. She had no fashion sense and couldn't be bothered to properly style herself in the way an empress should. Instead, she bounced around frizzy-headed in old robes and boots as if she were a nobody from a desert planet. That may be the case, but it didn't help for their enemies and troopers to know. Polished and put together, virtually every other being in the First Order was the perfect opposite of her. Their outfit was a jigsaw puzzle with clear-cut lines and places for each individual, but the girl was a mist, a tornado that blew through and upset everything he worked so hard for.

Yet Hux fought back a smile as she yawned widely across the council table from him. Empress Rey. She may have been the single good thing Kylo Ren did for the First Order. Where the Supreme Leader was cold and _instant_ to anger, the Empress was kind and understanding, thoughtful and quick to laugh. Hux could even detect the most minute shift in Ren's demeanor while she was around, and that gave him great hope that his weekly brutalizing at Ren's power would perhaps come to an end.

Suddenly the empress was looking at him expectantly, snapping him from his thoughts. "What do you think, General?" she asked solemnly.

Beside her Kylo Ren glowered in annoyance. His eyes narrowed slightly but he said nothing. He never interrupted or questioned Rey, not in front of the council, not while they walked together in the corridor. The empress was the key, Hux understood, to bringing about the change necessary to execute his glorious plans for the galaxy.

"I apologize," Hux replied, making certain to lock eyes with Rey and ignore Ren entirely. "I was pondering another point. Forgive me, Empress."

"Sure," Rey smiled, shifting casually in her seat. "So the saboteurs and would-be defectors. How should we punish them? I think exile."

Before Hux could respond, a fat general inhaled loudly and brought a hand down on the table. "It's too dangerous for them to be left alive," he snarled from the far end of the table. He pursed his lips and looked to his fellows for confirmation. "If you throw them out, they'll band together and wasn't that their desired outcome? A foolish idea from a foolish girl," he snorted.

None of the other generals reacted. Hux held his breath.

Kylo leaned forward, eyes locked on the general. His voice was a sharp bark. "What was that, General? I don't think I heard what you said about the Empress." He brought his hand up; a claw squeezing the air as if it resisted.

The general's eyes bugged out of his head as he gasped silently for air, desperately grasping his neck for a hand that was choking him from ten feet way.

"Go on," Kylo said in a mockingly light tone. "You were saying?" He watched the general writhe and smirked. "I think you were disrespecting your empress."

"Oh, I think he was trying to say I'm surprisingly resourceful and clever," Rey said plainly, putting a hand on Kylo's forerm and gently lowering it back down.

The general gasped noisily as the Force released him. A black droid beeped and approached him.

"I don't believe General Daly is feeling well. See him out, won't you?" Rey ordered the droid. She turned back to Hux and smiled as the droid all but dragged the man from the conference room. "Sorry. Anyway. What do you think? Exile? Death? Prison?"

Hux calculated his options and quickly came to a decision. "As we move into a new era, it seems pertinent that we portray the message that we're in control, unthreatened by cowards and runaways. The Empress is right. Exile is wise." He bowed his head toward Rey.

Ren nodded and stood. "It's decided. Exile the traitors to the Outer Rim. Immediately. That's all for this afternoon." His gaze lingered on Rey for a moment and they shared a brief gaze before he nodded and left. His cape flowed out behind him as he stalked from the room.

The other officers followed suit, but Hux lingered, unwilling to answer to any of them for his decision. He knew he'd likely pay for his vote for Rey's plan, but for now the danger had gone from the room and he allowed himself a moment of relaxation.

"Thank you," Rey smiled, brushing her hand across his shoulders as she passed behind him.

Hux stiffened. "Empress. I didn't know you were still here."

She leaned on the table beside him, her body brushing casually against his. "I know I don't fully understand running a military, but I understand people. No one deserves to die because they changed their mind. Right?"

Stuffing down his own opinions, Hux raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid the council hardly agrees, but fortunately your and the Supreme Leader's opinions count for more."

The girl smiled. "But I'm glad to have you on the same page, Hux. Armitage, isn't it?"

Surprised that she said and more surprised that she _knew_ his first name, Hux nodded. "Yes, my Empress." He looked up to her and noticed a spray of freckles across her cheeks and nose. And before he knew what had happened, he was smiling fondly at her.

"Want to get dinner?" Rey blurted. "I'm starving and Ben – Kylo," she corrected herself, "has another meeting."

Hux blinked, trying to process the request. Ren never asked him to eat together in their years of service together. It was barely Rey's first month and here they were. Though his intuition dictated he should stay away from her lest she probed his mind with her powers, he considered the offer. So what if she knew he was only siding with her to further his own motives? He was still supporting her where she needed it most; in front of the council. "I – I'm not certain how to respond to that request, Empress."

"Why not?" Rey asked indignantly. "Are you hungry or not?" She put her hands on her hips and stared at him expectantly.

Chuckling, Hux nodded. "I am. Forgive me. Officers seldom dine with the Supreme Leader. I assumed you would be the same." It had been a long time since he joined someone for a pleasant meal and conversation. Against his better judgment, he offered his arm. "Dinner, then?"

Giggling and eagerly looping her arm over his, Rey dramatically curtseyed. "Why thank you, General."

* * *

As they made their way toward the galley, the girl chatted easily, peppering Hux with questions regarding his life off the clock. The questions seemed unduly personal until Hux realized it was only because no one took the time to get to know him.

Rey talked with her hands, waving them excitedly before her as she thought up questions to ask. "At the end of a long shift, what do you love doing?"

Hux shrugged. "I suppose I love my duty."

"No," Rey snapped. "I mean for fun. Not work. For example," she thought a moment, "I love to try new food! There wasn't much to eat where I grew up, so now I sneak into the galley between mealtimes and one chef, the nicest old woman, always has some sort of exotic fruit or dessert for me." Her eyes sparkled and made Hux feel a burst of warmth in his chest. "Oh, oh!" she continued. "And if we're on a planet, I love exploring. There are so many plants and trees and green! I used to bring flowers back to my room until these orange ones gave me a horrid rash. Ben thought someone was trying to poison me." She giggled like a child confessing to a secret. "Have you thought of anything yet?"

Overwhelmed by her pleasant presence and the fact that for the first time in perhaps a decade, he didn't crave solitude, he allowed himself a genuine smile. "What I most like to do, I suppose," Hux replied thoughtfully, "is after a long shift, to just retire to my chambers with a good book and Millicent in my lap."

Rey pulled away and gasped scandalously, a wicked smile at her lips. "General! Who's Millicent?"

Blushing as red as his hair, Hux shook his head frantically. "No, no! My cat! My _cat,_ " he breathed. "Forgive me, Empress. Millicent is my _cat._ "

"Empress? Stop that," Rey snorted. "I get Ben wanting me to be the empress in front of all of the generals who dislike me to remind them of their place, but we're friends, right?" Her doe eyes fixed on him innocently.

Hux nodded. "I could use a friend." As soon as he'd said the words, he wished he could recall them. He forced a hard look.

"I'm not afraid of B-Kylo," Rey rolled her eyes. "You shouldn't be, either. I know that's what you're thinking," she added sheepishly. "Sorry. I don't try to do it but sometimes thoughts just scream themselves at me!" She lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry. I _hate_ prying like that."

Suddenly regarding her with suspicion, Hux regretted his easy way with her. He was silent as they neared the galley. Finally as they reached a table, he spoke honestly, but hoping it further cemented his place with the empress. "Ren detests me. I fear any friendship between us would put us _both_ at risk of his ire. I'm not sure how much more my body can handle." Frowning, he touched his ribs subconsciously and winced. They were newly mended, but tracing them made him uncomfortable. "I'm not an old man, but I feel like it."

Rey's face softened and fell. She slowed to a stop, holding him to the spot as well. "He hurts you?" She held his forearms and stared at him intently there in the middle of the galley. Troopers and officers were noticing.

Hux pursed his lips, suddenly uncomfortable with what he'd shared. "You've seen his tantrums. At least the former supreme leader is dead. Suffering both of their abuses was intolerable. Though I still suspect it wasn't truly you, thank you for taking care of that overgrown gremlin. Snoke had no place leading the First Order." His heart hammered, but Hux couldn't place whether it was because he was finally speaking the words he longed to for so long, or because he was trying to bring her into an alliance.

"I'm so sorry." Rey hesitated awkwardly. Conflict burned in her eyes and she chewed at the inside of her lip. "Ben is teaching me the ways of the Force, but I'm teaching him to control his temper. Don't rob me of a friend because you're afraid. Give me a chance."

Sighing and knowing life was about to change, Hux nodded. He could feel control slipping from his fingers and falling into her hands. "Very well, Empress."

"Stop that."

"Very well, Rey."

* * *

After dinner Rey and Hux strode back through the ship, arm in arm and chatting as if they were old friends. As hard as he tried to put up a wall and remind himself that Rey was obviously in cahoots with Kylo Ren and that she needed to be kept at an arm's length, the scavenger empress clawed her way back through, demanding his affection and rewarding him with a warm feeling in his chest when he presented her with true friendship.

"So you're going home to Millicent?" Rey giggled. "I didn't know we could have pets."

"She isn't exactly on the approved list of personal belongs," he muttered. "Should the council find out I have a contraband, well." Then he smirked. "There is a place for rules and there's a time for breaking the stupid ones. Everyone loves Millicent. She's a treasure." Then his eyes brightened. "Would you like to meet her?"

Beaming, Rey nodded. "Yes! Of course! I've never met a cat."

"You've never?" Hux breathed, staring at her like the Jakku nobody she was. "You uncivilized swine."

A pair of stormtroopers turned their heads and stared.

Hux cleared his throat. "As you were." As soon as they'd gone on their way, he looked to Rey in horror. "This is why I can't have friends, Empress. The Supreme Leader will surely hear about that."

She rolled her eyes. "Well I'm the empress and I say it doesn't matter. Let's go!"

A few moments later Hux paused at his door and entered his security code, his fingers moving slowly as he pondered whether Rey would still want to come in after his hot and cold signals of wanting and then not wanting her presence.

A meow greeted the pair. Pushing past and nearly toppling Hux over, Rey dropped to her knees in the doorway and stretched out her arms. "Millicent!" she cooed at the large ginger cat.

Millicent mewed and blinked at Rey, rubbed against a chair, and flicked her tail before running to Hux and launching herself into his arms. He buried his face in her fur and stroked her silky fur. "My girl," he whispered as he kissed the top of her head. "Hello there."

Rey approached the cat cautiously, vibrating excitement. "Can I touch her? Can I _hold_ her?"

"Yes, she's quite friendly," Hux replied, tipping the cat into Rey's arms. He watched the empress beaming in awe as she petted Millicent, the cat purring contentedly. "She likes you." Watching Rey coo and rock the cat like a baby ignited the tingling in his chest. Life was structured and predictable before Ren brought her on board, but the general suddenly found himself thankful for Rey's bubbly personality and intrusion on his solitude and routine.

"I love her." Rey rubbed her nose against the cat's and giggled. "Can I visit and play with her more?"

"Any time," Hux agreed. "You know my shifts coincide with Ren's. I'm generally here all evening, especially now that wartime action has dropped off." _Did you just give the Empress an open invitation to your private chambers?_ Hux swallowed and imagined the scenarios. Surprisingly, none of them were bad as he imagined.

* * *

 _Two Months Later_

Rey easily tapped in Hux's security code and strolled into his quarters as the door slid open. "Millie! Here, Millie, Millie!" she called, slapping her thighs and dropping to her knees in anticipation. The cat mewed from deep within the chambers and came running.

Hux looked up from the floor, entirely unsurprised at the empress's presence. He was practicing yoga, stretched in a strange knot on a mat on the floor. "You're late," he commented. "Long training lesson tonight?"

For weeks playing with Millicent became Rey's post-dinner ritual. No matter her schedule, one constant was Rey unabashedly walking into Hux's home like she owned the place and making herself comfortable, no matter the time or what Hux was doing. Sometimes he would return home and sense that Rey had already been there.

"Mmhmm," Rey nodded, scratching the ginger cat between the ears. "My brain is sore. I guess it is a muscle, isn't it?" At last she finally looked to the general and smiled as he gracefully moved from one yoga stretch to the next. "I'll never figure out how you twist yourself into those positions." She cocked her head and raised an eyebrow. "Kriff, you're flexible."

Oddly flattered, Hux rolled onto his side and twisted. "Help me, would you? Press down on my hips. Not hard, but some pressure."

"Mmhmm," Rey nodded, ducking so Millicent could jump onto her shoulders and perch there. "I'd learn, if you wanted to teach me." Balancing the cat on her back, Rey straddled Hux and lowered down so that she was sitting on him. She placed her hands on his pelvis and leaned into them. "Here?"

"Yes, perfect," he moaned softly. Hux exhaled as Rey stretched him further. "Thank you. It would do you well to learn yoga, what with all of the stress I'm sure your body and mind are under, working with your boyfriend."

Rey laughed, her breath warm in his face as she threw her full body weight into his stretch. One false move and she'd tumble onto him. For a brief moment the thought was appealing, but Hux pushed the notion away and instead took a deep breath and relaxed even deeper. "I've wanted to ask," he cautiously ventured, "where do you tell Ren you are when you're here?"

Nonplussed by the question, Rey shrugged. "I don't have to tell him. He generally knows what I'm doing. The same goes the other way." She sat up, straddling him still. "Other side?"

Obeying, Hux shifted his weight under her and twisted the opposite way, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply as Rey folded over on him, applying the perfect amount of weight on him. "I find it hard to believe he has no qualms about you coming over every night."

"Well, he knows." Rey shrugged. "I'm not sure whether you're ready for the information, but we can always see what the other is doing, if we want. It's the Force between us."

Hux drew a deep breath and opened his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"If I thought about it, I could see what he's doing right now, almost like a hologram." A look of uncertainty passed her face. "What's wrong?"

Hux's blood ran cold. "He could look and see you sitting on me?" He shoved her, causing Millicent to yowl and Rey to tumble backward. The dozens of bizarrely intimate yet platonic moments from the past two months flashed through his mind. Rey touching his bruised ribs and applying a Jakku remedy to them. Hux spoonfeeding her a dish he baked special from his home planet. The way Rey danced around with Millicent and sang silly songs to her. Knowing that Ren had unlimited access to him in what Hux _thought_ were private, safe moments chilled him to the bone. "Are you _spying_ one me?" He blurted. "Get out."

"Armie," Rey cooed. "I'm not spying on you. You asked and I was only telling you the truth."

"If your _boyfriend_ sees us pressed together on the floor, you're telling me he isn't going to come kill me?" His heart pounded in panic and something darker. Though he couldn't immediately identify the second emotion, Hux knew it had something to do with the comfortable position of letting his wall down and trusting that Rey was truly his friend. _Betrayal,_ he realized. _I thought she was my friend._

Rey nervously cracked her knuckles and struggled for words.

" _What are you still doing here?"_ Hux roared as he jumped to his feet. "Get out! _Get out!"_

Rey's mouth moved up and down wordlessly before she managed, "Armie?"

"No," Hux barked, quickly putting on General Hux as Armitage's heart was breaking. "You're a sorceress and I knew I never should have trusted the likes of you. You're just like Ren!" Before emotions could overtake him, he snatched Millicent from the floor and marched toward his bedroom. "Stay away from me. Stay away from Millie. You're not welcome here."

The last thing he saw before mashing his hand against the door panel was Rey, reaching out but letting her hand drop back to her side as her big brown eyes shone with wetness.

Armitage exhaled shakily and leaned against the wall, not bothering to straighten when his back began to slide. Instead he slid down the door and sat there, Millicent purring in his lap and frustrated tears burning his eyes.


	3. Smut

General Hux saw everything and said nothing.

He flipped the security hologram off and ejected the small chip into his palm and crushed it. Though the main tapes were destroyed, this remaining copy had been his key to finishing Kylo Ren. It was _him,_ not the girl, who killed the supreme leader. And why?

Hux ground the chip into smaller pieces in his fist.

 _For the girl._

Crait was a disappointment. It was an embarrassment. And now it all felt worse. The mighty Kylo Ren had lost his senses for a nobody scrapper from Jakku and upset the entire First Order. What bothered Hux more was that the girl had clearly won Ren's entire affection and loyalty; something he'd worked for and failed to do time after time. A wall remained between them though most nights, not even the sheets could keep them apart.

Ren was asleep in the general's bed when Hux returned to his quarters after ensuring no other evidence existed to tie Ren to Snoke's murder.

"You're here?" Hux mused, a bite of annoyance in the words.

"Mmm." Ren rolled over and pulled the sheet up to his face. "Turn off the light."

He meant to remain calm and lord the glorious blackmail over Ren's head. The evidence was concrete, and Ren would look into Hux's mind and see that the general absolutely could end him. Yet the snarky order in Hux's own room sent him over the edge, where he'd been perched for some time. "Get up. I just watched the security recording of Snoke's throne roo-" Hux choked on the words as a Force presence pressed against his chest. " _Stop,"_ he rasped.

The sensation stopped almost immediately and Ren twitched angrily, still not turning to face him.

"You worthless cad," Hux snarled, storming across the room and tearing the blankets away from the bed. "Get up."

Nearly nude and curled into a comfortable ball, Ren glared over his shoulder at him. "What's your problem?" he snarled. "Just get in bed." He snatched the sheets back and pulled them up.

"The girl!" Hux growled through clenched teeth, ripping the sheets away and throwing them to the floor. "You killed the supreme leader because of _the girl._ " His lip twitched and voice cracked.

Ren didn't react in any way. "Yes. I did."

Hux swallowed and weighed what direction to take the argument in.

"I'd do it again," Ren added before he could reply. "If you didn't see that coming, you're even more pathetic than I thought."

"You will _not disrespect me_ after all you've put me through," Hux roared, snatching Ren's foot and yanking him toward the foot of the bed. Finally in possession of the supreme leader's rapt attention, he jabbed a finger in his face. "You owe me an apology. Or at the very least, you can wipe my memory so I forget all the miserable extracurricular hours I've spent in your company."

Ren stared up at him and simply replied, "You couldn't possibly think this was the same thing." He narrowed his eyes for a moment and pushed into the general's mind, then pursed his lips. "You did." Something like pity passed his face.

Feeling a blush rising in his cheeks, Hux reached down and struck Ren across the face. "Fuck you. You're a manipulative, disgusting-"

"I am," Ren agreed lamely, not bothering to defend himself.

"Shut up," Hux barked, backhanding him and pinning him down anyway. "So why- why did you need me if you had the girl? You think me a fool? An- an emotionless cock for you to fuck?" He realized his chest was heaving and nostrils flaring as he panted for breath.

Ren turned his head to the side and sighed listlessly. "I didn't have the girl. I _don't_ have the girl."

The man's lack of caring bothered Hux more than if he were Force-choking him. "So I'm your second choice? How many nights have you shown up here in the middle of the night? Was it because she wasn't answering your call?" His hand crept to Ren's throat and he let it rest there, not quite angry enough to clench his windpipe in his fingers.

"Be my guest," Ren muttered darkly. "I won't stop you."

Shocked at how quickly he lost control and how eagerly Ren was giving it up, Hux sat back on his side of the bed and pulled his knees to his chest, facing the wall. "Get out."

"Make me."

Hux snarled aloud. "I don't want you here. I don't want you in my bed, I don't want you in my sight." Frustrated tears threatened to spill down his cheeks but he fought them back. Ren's betrayal was worthy of his rage, but he refused to allow him to see his utter devastation.

Ren rolled over and his hand caught Hux's hip. "Can we not do this tonight?"

"You already fucked me once today with that idiotic stunt you pulled with Skywalker." He sniffled. "If you won't leave here, fine. I'll go to your quarters and change the security code so I can get away from you."

Ren sat up and moved so his chest was pressed against Hux's back and his legs were on either side of the general's. His arms wound around his waist. "Just fucking stay." His lips trailed from Hux's ear down his neck, sending shivers down his arms.

"You can't seduce your way out of this," Hux whispered. The hologram had been small, but the way Ren looked at the scavenger was a look Hux had only seen a few times and yearned to earn. It burned in his mind and seared his heart. Kylo Ren was in love with the girl. "I feel like a damn fool."

"That makes two of us." Ren's warm breath at the back of his neck scattered goosebumps. "Armitage, just fucking get in bed." he tried.

Ren rarely used his first name, and it struck Hux as intimate. Refusing to concede this time, he shook his head. "Not even if you begged from your knees."

Ren's hand crept down to his crotch and began massaging. " _Please_."

Hux gasped. Their sexual escapades nearly always consisted of Hux servicing Ren and willingly submitting to him, never the other way around. His erection felt electric in the supreme leader's long fingers and he moaned and writhed.

"Please." Ren swiftly moved to the floor, kneeling before Hux, his hand moving skillfully up and down his shaft. "Please don't leave me."

Panting, Hux stared down at Ren's large, pleading eyes. "Convince me," he spat, shrugging out of his jacket and undoing his uniform slacks. At long last he held the power, even if it came at a painful price. So perhaps the girl had Ren's heart. At least he had his presence and desire.

As Ren parted his lips to take Hux into his mouth, the general groaned. "That's right. Good man. You'll show me how much you need me or you'll have lost two lovers today."

* * *

Ren slept surprisingly soundly for a man who shrugged off his usual role and exuded _much more_ effort than a routine evening.

Hux was exhausted but couldn't bring himself to close his eyes. His body was still throbbing in euphoria. His chest rose and fell steadily, his lover's dark head rising and falling with each breath as it rested on him.

"You asshole," Hux whispered into Ren's messy hair. He pressed a kiss against his scalp and closed his eyes. "You have no idea how much I loathe your existence."

"Fuck you, Hux," Ren mumbled against his chest before falling back to sleep.


	4. Yoga

Hux took a deep breath and stretched deeper. It was a simple seated twist, but felt incredible. He folded forward and let his forehead rest against his palms. " _Mmm_ ," he moaned to himself. There was something to the strange burning ache that felt good. Life was bizarre, he mused. Why should pain bring him such relief? His body melted further into the floor and he breathed deep.

"How do you do that?" a curious, low voice came.

Hux gasped and jerked upward in surprise, then scowled. His muscles returned to their naturally tense state. "Supreme Leader. You don't usually use this gym."

"No, not usually." Kylo Ren pulled off his shirt and tossed it on a weight bench. "That idiot Dalee is in the other one. I'll kill him if I have to spend another second with him." He effortlessly grabbed several large weights and stacked them at the end of a bar. "I didn't know you did meditation," he offered as conversation.

"It's yoga." Hux pretended to be unaffected by his presence, switched sides, twisted, and folded forward once again. Relaxation wouldn't come as easily as it did in solitude.

More weights clanked onto the bar. "You're flexible."

"You know that already," Hux grumbled as he stretched further. His muscles remained rigid in protest and his reach was diminished a great amount.

A dark chuckle rumbled through the gym. "I do."

Hux sat up and glared at the other man, who was sitting on the bench, staring at him with a scoundrel's twinkle in his eye. "Don't look at me like that," Hux snapped. "The gym is filthy. And it's public. Other officers use it frequently." _The game begins,_ he thought almost excitedly.

With the flick of his fingers, the doors beeped and whirred as they locked down. Ren stared at Hux wolfishly.

Hux sniffed, almost disappointed. "It's still disgustingly unsanitary."

"Your face was on the floor a minute ago."

"On my _mat._ Doesn't the fact that I'm making excuses mean enough to deter you?" Hux sneered, but didn't make any moves to leave. His abdomen began to warm and throb.

"I can read your mind. That's why I'm not deterred. You don't mean it. But all right." Ren smirked and lie back, reaching up for the weight bar. His workout would have killed other men, but his pace was leisurely and effortless.

Hux watched him for a moment, longing to grab those hard muscles, before clearing his throat. "Thank you. I appreciate your decency, for once."

Ren did several more reps before chuckling and lifting the bar back into the rack. "You'd think after all this time you'd stop trying to convince me you don't enjoy our arrangement." He sat up leaned on his knees, a smirk on his lips.

"After all this time you should know I can't stand your presence."

"But you like when I fuck you."

"That doesn't mean I like or respect _you_ ," Hux added for good measure. _Take that._

With a snort of derision, Ren pushed into Hux's mind. After a moment his eyebrows perked up. "Really?" he purred suddenly. "You want me to _what_?"

Hux felt the tips of his ears begin to burn. "Get out of my head. If I wanted such activities, I'd have proposed them." It was a lie and both men knew it.

Kylo glanced over his shoulder to the mirrors on the wall behind him, then leered back at Hux. "That's not a bad idea, General." He ran a hand through his hair and chewed his bottom lip for a second before grinning widely. "I'll do it."

His heart hammering and loins stirring, Hux stared up at the supreme leader. "I- I don't know if it will actually work. I hadn't worked out the exact details. I may not be _that_ flexible."

"I can make it work," he replied eagerly, taking the bait as usual. By now Hux learned that Kylo Ren couldn't resist a challenge. His gloves were on Hux then, tracing over his thin t-shirt and tugging at his waistband.

The bottoms slid off easily and pooled at Hux's feet. Goosebumps ignited and spread like wildfire along his skin. "Remember to-" he started.

"Shh," Ren hissed. "This won't work if you aren't relaxed." He pulled off his gloves and pressed his fingertips into the tight muscles in the general's lower back.

Hux bowed into downward facing dog and Ren positioned himself behind him. Rough hands grabbed at his hips and stretched him back further. The pressure of Ren against him made Hux's knees tremble.

Stealing a glance in the mirror, the general shuddered. _What would dear Father have said about this?_ The wickedness of fucking the supreme leader with literally no ulterior motive than for pleasure was deliciously satisfying. No, Armitage Hux didn't need to sleep his way to power. He had it. He simply couldn't resist the sullen ruler and knew the same applied to Ren.

Allowing himself to stretch deeper, Hux actually laughed darkly. The burning in the back of his legs was different, but just as satisfying as as the burning from Ren's steady thrusting. Suddenly he pulled away and scooped his body into cobra pose, biting his lip as he pressed against the yoga mat.

Rising to all fours, he performed a few cat cow stretches before looking back to Ren. "Enjoying the show?" he asked sarcastically. "What are you waiting for?"

"Maybe," Ren sheepishly mumbled, "maybe you could teach me how to do this." He got on his knees behind him, not surprised at Hux's lusty moan. "I want to be flexible."

"Yes, well, all those muscles will keep you from being as lithe as me," Hux panted. He closed his eyes and rolled his head back and forth, stretching his neck. The mix of pleasure and pain had him salivating. Watching in the mirror, Hux bit his lip and watched Ren's muscular body flex and ripple as he worked.

* * *

Still trembling moments later, Hux pulled his pants back on and used his towel to wipe off the yoga mat. He was seeing stars and still felt electrified. He reached for Ren, but he'd already gotten up.

"As you were, General." Ren grabbed his shirt and put it under his head on the weight bench, beginning his workout as if nothing happened.

"Fuck you, Supreme Leader."


	5. Patient Rey

Hux looked down at the unconscious Rebel with disdain. She'd slept for hours and hours thanks in part to her grievous wound, but mostly thanks to a sedative he administered personally. Ren was a monster while conscious, a nightmare when injured, and Hux didn't want to take a chance with this Force equal of his. The bacta suit insulated her and for now, he had nothing to worry about.

The woman was healing unnaturally fast. Hux simply wrote it off as the Force. She'd be scarred something terrible and never sell on a slave market, but he imagined that was never Ren's plan for her. _Empress_ was a word he'd overheard once or twice regarding the Supreme Leader's plans for her.

Kylo Ren and this scavenger queen joined for a joint mission, Ren called it. Ren's trooper guard as well as several of the Rebels called a temporary ceasefire and united to rein in the rogue Knights of Ren who threatened the entire universe _._ Hux hadn't _disagreed_ with the idea, but it annoyed him to high space that Ren let the Force users get out of his control and threaten the First Order's existence at all.

The fight was nearly won when Rey was slashed horizontally across the stomach by one of the knights. Ren dragged her back to the ship, somehow parrying blows and fighting off blaster shots while he did. The supreme leader thrust her, bleeding and smelling of singed skin, into Hux's arms, pressing a kiss to her forehead before scowling up to the general. His last words before running back to the fight were _"_ Take care of her. If she dies, I'll recreate her wounds on you." Hux believed it with every fiber of his being.

Mildly surprised by Ren's obvious affection for this Rey, Hux took his orders solemnly. Sitting by her bedside as a permanent fixture, he monitored her vitals with the attentiveness of a hungry dog at a dinner table. The day dragged on slowly. The ventilator keeping Rey's lungs pumping hissed rhythmically and eventually lulled Hux to sleep as the clocks flipped to 2:30AM.

His dreams carried him onto a battlefield on a green planet.

 _He swung a light saber, cutting down enemies left and right. Ren appeared at his side and fought with him for some time before turning and thrusting a boot into Hux's ribs. The cracking was loud, but not painful. From the dirt Hux watched Ren rage off through the battle, leaving him crumpled and injured._

Then a _goddess in silver appeared from nowhere, reached out to him, her face full of concern. "Wake up. Please," she pleaded. "Help me._ Wake up!"

Gasping himself awake, Hux took a moment to realize what happened.

The patient was awake. Rey was staring at him desperately from her bed of tubes and IV lines, her lips moving under the tape holding her ventilator in place. If it wasn't for the bacta suit and heavy equipment holding her down, Hux was certain she'd be clawing at him for help.

"You did that?" he breathed. "You woke me from inside my dream?" Somehow the intrusion didn't feel repulsive like Ren's tricks always did. Instead, hers felt like a polite nudge.

She nodded briefly, then winced. Her eyes were wide and her chest heaved up and down rapidly, working against the breathing apparatus. Small squeaks escaped through her nose; the only communication she could muster. Terror was palpable and it was something Hux was no stranger to. Not along ago, he awoke in a med bay on a planet he didn't remember thanks to a head injury. Instead of loathing, empathy washed over him regarding the girl.

"Don't be frightened," Hux cooed, daring to reach over and touch her hand reassuringly. It seemed to work and she relaxed some. "You have serious injuries, but you're healing well. In time you'll be back to normal. Ren is fine, probably," he added hastily. "He's out finishing the fight."

Still, she struggled against the equipment keeping her alive.

"Relax, please. You were nearly gutted with a light saber. You need all this for the time being. You'll only be on the ventilator through tomorrow morning," he explained. "Would you like something to keep you sedated until then?"

Rey furrowed her brow and shook her head as much as she could muster.

"No. All right," Hux nodded. He sat back and crossed his legs casually. "We haven't been properly introduced, despite the havoc you've managed to wreak on my life. I'm General Hux." He raised an eyebrow. "If you couldn't tell, you are my charge for the time being, on Ren's orders."

Her expressive face was a blessing. The scowl fell away. Curiosity replaced it.

"Yes, those were my thoughts, as well," Hux agreed. "Why should a First Order officer keep a Rebel officer alive? Well, to keep myself from being gutted by your boyfriend."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners. She found him humorous.

Surprised to understand precisely what she was emoting, he chuckled darkly. "I can't say I'm his friend, my lady. We've merely worked alongside each other under Snoke. Though I suppose it says something of our work relationship that he trusts me with you." Hux looked down at her and found Rey listening raptly. Sheepishly clearing his throat, he wondered why he divulged those feelings. She was very obviously in cahoots with Ren and therefore couldn't be trusted.

And yet there was no malice in her expression, only genuine interest. She raised her eyebrows in a way that urged him on.

"You should rest," he said, looking at a datapad with her vital stream. "You need it."

Only then did she look down in horror to realize she was nude under the clear fluid-filled suit. She shrieked hoarsely into the ventilator and thrashed.

"Enough," Hux replied boredly. "I've preserved your modesty, I assure you. Only authorized medical personnel are allowed in. There _was_ a blanket over you, but your temperature began to trend upward. Once I removed it, you stabilized nicely." He scowled at her. "I don't know how they do things on Jakku, but I'm a gentleman, not a miscreant. I'd never assault a woman, let alone an injured, unconscious one."

A glare. A moment later, it softened somewhat.

Hux sighed and stood. "I'm not here to make you uncomfortable or gawk at you. Ren ordered that I not let you out of my sight, but if you'd like, I will do so. There are already guards in the hallway but I'd be pleased to do so myself."

Her brows threaded together. _Why?_

"Well," Hux replied easily, "you didn't seem thrilled a moment ago. Make up your mind."

She nodded slightly and blinked a few times.

"Stay? Thank you, my lady. I'm certain you could talk Ren out of murdering me for abandoning you, but I prefer to avoid the situation all together."

Another small smile and this time, a shrug.

The smallest hint of a grin ignited on his lips. _At least we've moved past the nudity._ Hux felt a pang of kinship with the girl. "Forgive me. I suppose my bedside manner is rusty. It's been some time since I've cared for a patient." After a moment, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, unusually casual while in uniform. "May I ask you a question of your powers?"

A nod.

"You spoke to me in my dream. Can you speak to me telepathically now?"

Rey stared intensely at him for a moment, then sank back into her pillow and sighed.

"Not right now?" Hux determined. "But usually? Interesting. Rest, for now. Use that strength to heal well before Ren returns."

Smiling, Rey nodded and closed her eyes.

It wasn't a voice, but a feeling of gratitude settled in his mind from nowhere, again with the polite sensation of someone knocking at his mind's door.

"You're very welcome," Hux mumbled.

* * *

At noon on the second day, Hux was finishing his third cup of coffee and chatting about whatever came to mind to keep the scavenger girl calm and entertained. By now the wounds visible through her suit were only half their original size and nearly ready to be stitched shut. The medical team assured him they must wait until the _normal_ protocol time passed, completely disregarding his argument that she was a force user like Ren and should be treated as such.

He watched her struggle against the ventilator and apologized, knowing she was strong enough to breathe on her own, but afraid to intervene with no medical training. She was antsy and fighting panic, but Hux was doing his damnedest to distract her.

"Dispatches say Ren is _personally_ chasing down the last of his knights," he muttered in surprise. "I'm shocked it took this long, but not entirely in disbelief that he'd see to it himself."

Rey shrugged.

"If you want something done right," Hux suggested.

She looked at him with disdain.

"No, I believe that," he replied. "Why trust a subordinate to do something when I'd just have to correct it once they've ruined it all?"

An arched eyebrow.

"You're right. Better subordinates."

The door slid open and the chief medical officer entered the room with a nurse at his side.

"You could knock," Hux barked, glaring at the pair before looking down to Rey. She nodded briefly and the doctor stepped over to her and began a routine examination, flipping through her datapad, checking monitors and looking at her wounds through her bacta suit.

"Don't harm her," Hux breathed down his neck. The doctor was being a little rough for his liking, and discomfort was apparent on Rey's face. "She's a guest, not a prisoner."

"General," the doctor suggested in thinly-veiled annoyance. "Perhaps you could allow us to go ahead and do our work?" He turned back to Rey. "We're going to pop out this breathing tube and some of these IV's and see how you do on your own. First you'll be sedated."

"Nnnnnn!" she disagreed frantically.

Unaffected, the doctor prepped the needle on the tray next to him.

Rey looked to Hux, pleading.

Hux frowned back. "It don't have to be for long," he consoled her softly. "It's for your own comfort. I won't leave."

The doctor all but rolled his eyes. "Actually you _will_ need to step out, General. Is there a reason you're in this _guest's_ room? It's not protocol."

" _Nnnn!"_ Her strength build back up, Rey thrashed against the restraints of the equipment. Monitors blinked and beeped in protest. The doctor stumbled backward in shock as his tools clattered on the tray. Hux put a hand on Rey's and the tools fell silent once more.

The doctor stared at him uneasily. After a moment, he stepped back again, shaking his head. "This is the woman who-"

"Yes, this is that woman," Hux cut him off. "You will treat her. No sedation. And I'm staying."

Motioning to the nurse to leave, the doctor moved back toward the door after her. "One false move and she'll-"

"One more step and I'll kill you myself," Hux snarled, blaster drawn and aimed at the man's forehead. "Treat this patient or I'll have an opening for a medical officer." Chancing a glance at Rey, his chest warmed to see her watching him in wonder. It was as if no one stood up for her before. Actual tears slipped from her eyes.

"General, she's dangero-"

"As am I," Hux barked. "Remove the breathing tube and get out. I'll see to the rest of her injuries myself. Believe you me, Supreme Leader Ren will hear about your insubordination and outright refusal to treat his personal guest."

The breath gone from him, the doctor nodded grimly and gingerly returned to Rey's side. Ignoring her gaze, he untaped and removed the tube as cautiously as he could. When he had gone, Hux locked the door and holstered his weapon.

Rey swallowed and attempted to clear her throat.

"Don't, don't," Hux ordered. "You need to hydrate. Focus on breathing. Don't speak yet. Just breathe and swallow." He looked at the datapad for instructions, suddenly feeling helplessly stupid for dismissing the doctor. He had no idea how to treat a saber wound. He summoned a medical droid and hoped it would know what to do. In the meantime, he moved over her and began disconnecting her numerous IV tubes.

"Thank-"

"Silence," Hux warned her, focusing on the top of her hand, carefully pulling out the needle and pressing a cotton swab over the hole. He tossed the ball into the garbage, joking, "I'm sure I could keep those and sell them to the Jedi fanatics to analyze the Midi-chlorian count. Yours must be astronomical."

"What?" Rey rasped.

"Stop talking!" Hux snapped good-naturedly. "And nothing. An old Jedi myth regarding the Force being determined by living things in your blood." He pressed a bandage over her hand and moved to the next IV in her forearm. "You think a few of these would be enough," he muttered. He gently removed the needle, blood pressure cuff, and sighed as he looked at the devices hooked to her other arm.

"What are you doing? Where are the doctors?" An angry voice growled from the doorway.

"Ben!" Rey rasped.

"Supreme Leader," Hux gasped, stepping away from Rey to face the man looming tall in the room.

"What are you doing?" Ren repeated, storming in and looking Rey over from head to toe. He reached for Hux and threw him against the wall with the Force. "How dare you touch her!"

"Ben," Rey struggled to speak, her voice a hoarse whisper.

"I'm here, Rey," Ren reassured her, dragging Hux against the wall and letting him fall to the floor in a crumpled heap. "Did he hurt you? Did he touch you?"

Rey looked to him in horror. They locked eyes briefly. Her expression was all sorrow and regret.

"Get out," Ren snarled, turning to Hux in a rage. Bags hung under his eyes and someone else's blood splattered his cloak. Clearly battle didn't satisfy his need to unleash his rage.

Hux debated telling him he shouldn't be anywhere near Rey in that filthy condition, but already felt the sting of a cracked rib screaming with each breath he took. He didn't dare risk any more. "Yes, Supreme Leader," he panted, struggling to his feet, saluting, and limping for the door. Rey was not his burden. She was Ren's student or lover, and he had been foolish to be so friendly with her in the first place.

"Hux?" Rey croaked.

He hesitated at the door and cringed at the pain as he turned.

Ren slammed the door shut in his face, but there it was: a warmth and the same grateful feeling. It was enough.


	6. Daddy Issues

It wasn't the strangest thing General Hux expected to see in Ren's chambers, but it did momentarily stun him into silence. Instead of working out or writing at his desk, Kylo Ren was sitting with his knees pulled into his chest, sobbing. Moments like these made Hux realize Ren, too, was just a man, despite the dickish ways he chose to treat others and portray himself. Taking a deep breath, Hux strode further into the room and cleared his throat.

Ren looked up, not particularly bothered by the officer's presence. "What?"

"I can come back if this is a bad time," Hux offered softly.

"No," Ben shrugged as he wiped his wet cheeks with his bare hands. His gloves and cape were discarded at the foot of the couch. "What is it?"

Hux clasped his hands behind his back and resumed a formal posture. "Supreme Leader, I finished your speech for the-"

"How do you live with yourself?" Ren interrupted, looking deep into the general's eyes, searching for understanding.

The question wasn't about the speech, Hux knew. His heart thudded out of time for a hitch but recovered. "Supreme Leader?"

"You killed your father, too."

That similarity he shared with Ren was something Hux never delved into or focused on. The situations were vastly different, and yet here the First Order's leader was pleading with him for a connection. He needed someone to understand him and Hux was the only other creature vile enough to willingly commit patricide.

"Not personally, no," Hux replied honestly. "But I gave the direct order and it was my idea and intention. I'd have done it myself but I don't think I physically could have overpowered him. I needed it to be done efficiently."

Ren's long face grew solemn. Taking it as a cue to continue, Hux chewed at the inside of his lip and tried to formulate thoughts on the topic. Truly, years ago when Phasma returned victorious and Armitage because the only General Hux, he hadn't thought about it much. His father Brendan Hux was a tyrant and the galaxy was better off without him. Armitage was a bastard born into a life of war. The memories made his skin crawl. Who but his monster of a father would force his own son to lead a legion of child soldiers at age _six_?

"If you're asking how I live with the fact that I killed the man who raised me, well," Hux mused, "I think about what life would be like were he still here and I feel _much_ better."

Ren sniffled. "Han Solo wasn't a bad father." He trailed off and stared down at his hands. A muscle along his jaw rippled as he clenched his teeth.

"Don't mistake my lack of regret for a lack of _remorse_. A son should never have to kill his father, no matter the circumstances. I trust that in the moment you were doing what you needed to ensure your survival." Hux subconsciously touched his ribs, which had been bruised and broken, cracked and fractured countless times by the former supreme leader. He looked to Ren and wondered what horrors he endured at Snoke's hand and whether that was entirely to credit for General Solo's death.

Finally looking up to meet Hux's gaze, Ren steeled himself. "You think I'm irredeemable."

"Yes," Hux answered eagerly, daring to offer a cocky smile. "But only because you're an insufferable ass."

Ren smiled. "Fuck you, Hux." He straightened and wiped his face dry. "You have my speech?"

"Aye, sir."


	7. Future

**Quarter of a Century Later**

The tall woman with the pale face and bright eyes sneered in the general's face. "Ah, Hux. If only you weren't so old, perhaps I'd make you a play thing." The general made no move except for a slight uptick of a brow. After a moment the woman licked her lips. "Or maybe age is only a number, after all. What do you say?" She wrinkled her nose playfully and winked, taking care to stretch so that her cleavage was displayed prominently.

General Armitage Hux's cheeks burned scarlet. "I'm only as old as your father."

Smirking, the woman flipped her long braid over her shoulder before crawling onto his desk on all fours. Her long limbs covered the entire surface and the general leaned back to avoid touching her. "You know I like to toe the line. Our games are so fun, Hux." She flipped onto her back and kicked her legs up in the air.

"You're an abomination." His lip curled as he watched her writhe before him. "Don't you have something to do?"

The woman shrugged. "Aren't you tired of the foreplay? Come. I'm bored. I _command_ you to entertain me." She arched her back and moaned slightly. "Don't fight it, Hux."

Hux sighed and settled back in his chair, pushing back to put more space between them. "Fight _what?_ I'm trying to work and you barge in day after day, making your noises and flaunting yourself like a brood mare! Your juvenile games are so amusing to you, aren't they? At your age I was well on my way to being a general, if I wasn't already. And I don't need to tell you all your parents achieved." He leaned on an arm rest and sighed. "Run along. Your sister will be here with a project any minute."

"Hux," the woman scoffed. "I'm twenty four. And I don't have to do shit." She rolled her eyes. "Mommy and Daddy aren't going anywhere and you know that. All I have to do is be around when they die." She thought a moment, then leaned in. "I'm not convinced Daddy's _really_ going to ever let mom die. Not after Rylah was born and Mom was bloodying up the medical bay. Do you remember how crazy he was? Kriff. If one of them goes, both of them will." She yawned. "C'mon, Hux. Enough family history. Let's play." She reached out toward him but he slapped her hand away.

"Don't be so crass," Hux hissed. "You'll not speak ill of the Supreme Leader and Empress in my presence."

"All I'm saying is that I can do whatever I want. Or _whoever._ Like a ginger general. Who's going to be mad about it?" She shrugged. "The anticipation is only making me want this more." She blinked up at him.

Hux leaned forward so he was mere inches from her. "Get off my desk."

"It's treason to disobey a command from a princess. I could execute you."

With a nonchalant shrug, Hux nodded. "Then it's treason. If you want to have sex with an older man, go find General Dameron."

Anya sneered. "Uncle Poe? Stop."

"He's not your biological uncle, you twit. Fuck him if you want." Hux regretted the words as soon as he spoke them. A dark shadow loomed in the doorway, obviously observing the raunchy conversation and the way Anya was laying provocatively across his desk. "Ah. Supreme Leader. Good. I was trying to prepare for our meeting but one of your children saw fit to bother me."

"Hi, Daddy." Anya rolled over and hastily shrugged her breasts back into her tunic. "Way to knock."

"If you're going to try to fuck the general, be more discrete." Kylo Ren frowned at her. His gaze flickered from his daughter to Hux. "Your sister could have walked in at any minute. What would your mother think about that? Rylah already told your mother about you and Commander Finn."

Shocked at the airing of her dirty laundry, Anya gasped and quickly looked to Hux. "That was just a one time thing." Then she rolled her eyes. "Daddy. Please. You're the one interrupting here, and that's your apology? Besides, Mom obviously doesn't give a shit what people think if she married you."

The Supreme Leader's lip curled. "I see you don't believe I'll send you to Naboo."

Hux sat back and figured he'd enjoy the show. Blow-ups between Kylo Ren and Anya Solo were almost daily, even hourly sometimes. His eldest daughter was similar to him in not only appearance, but power and temper. The Empress found her charming, but that was only because Anya put on her best show for her mother. Her worst she reserved for her father.

Fearless, Anya strode toward Kylo Ren and matched his gaze. She was only an inch or so shorter than him. "You can't do anything to me. The people would riot of they found out you banished a princess. Try it, I dare you."

Ren stepped closer, his eyes darkening. Now he loomed over her, seeming to grow taller as his voice grew softer and more lethal. "I'm not in want of an heir. You forget I have two other daughters. Try me."

When the air around the pair began to sizzle, Hux cleared his throat. "Might we deescalate this? I'm expected at the Empress's council in an hour and we have matters to discuss, Ren."

Kylo swallowed and stepped back, not tearing his glare away from his daughter's face.

Anya's expression twisted into a smug pout. "What can I say? It's in my blood. It's the Solo charm, isn't that what your father used to say?" A cruel smile came to her lips as Kylo's face fell. "Or did you block that from memory like his face when you killed him?"

That was quite enough. Kylo Ren stood either stunned or restraining himself, Hux wasn't sure, but the atmosphere _smelled_ like the Force and he wouldn't have a sloppy argument destroying his office or potentially killing him. "Get out," Hux roared, jumping to his feet and storming around the desk. He snatched the girl by the bicep and practically threw her across the room toward the door. "I've dealt with irrational, manipulative Solos for long enough! Come back when you've grown up." He made a fist and smashed the panel by the door. When it whirred shut, locking Anya in the corridor, he took a breath and steadied himself before turning back to Ren. "She couldn't understand. She's a child." Flashes of his own father's assassination at his hand passed his mind. Hux had no children of his own but could almost imagine the feeling of an heir throwing such a horrid story in his face.

Ren sank into a chair and ran his hands through his hair, sighing.

Hux frowned. "For what it's worth, I can assure you her seduction is for naught. I'd never-"

"I don't care," Ren interrupted. "She can handle herself. She'll eat you alive. There's not a person alive who can tell her what to do and I keep waiting for you to rub my face in it." He pointed at the door. "I deserve her and you know it. She'll strike me down some day. I got what I deserved and she'll have that smile on her face when she kills me like I killed my father." The last words came out softly, as if they physically hurt to speak.

"Please," Hux snorted. "She's not you, you're not Han Solo, there's no Snoke, there's no war." He settled back into his desk and took a few more deep breaths to calm his pounding heart. "She's a child seeking thrill and adventure. She grew up on stories of what we did at her age and now that there's peace, what's she to do? Annoying, yes, but she's only trying to make a name for herself somehow. She's Kylo Ren's daughter, Darth Vader's descendent. She's grasping at a connotation what barely exists anymore."

Grunting his agreement, Kylo pulled his saber from his belt and studied it for a moment before dropping it on the desk. "Rey wanted an easy life for them. Look what happened. Anya. She's a beast in a cage."

Hux shook his head. "It's not that you deserve Anya. It's Gemma and Rylah you don't deserve." Finally he smiled at his old friend and won a smile in return. Chuckling, Hux reached into his desk and pulled out a bottle of liquor and slid it along with a glass toward the man in black. "One of them had to be like you."

"I know." Ren rubbed his brow. "How is she doing, anyway? Gem?"

"Swimmingly," he explained as Ren took a long drink. "Gemma is a perfect apprentice. Rylah stopped by and expressed interest as well, but in battle planning and strategy, not negotiations."

Ren nodded. "Thanks."

"For?"

He shook his head and motioned vaguely toward the rest of the base. "This. All of it. Everything. The girls." He sighed. "They love you."

"Me?" Hux scoffed. "They love Dameron. They love Finn. They _report_ to me."

"No," Ren replied. "Gem's in negotiations. Why would she be learning from you? And Rylah would fit better with Dameron. But they chose you." A lopsided smile came to his face, upsetting the long scar at his cheek. "And Anya. Well. You handle her well. Thanks for that."

"Did Finn _really_? I know he's a dolt, but fucking your _daughter?_ "

Ren's face twitched. "I don't want to talk about it."

Stroking his chin, Hux gritted his teeth. "Traitor," he hissed through his teeth. "So like him. He was there when she was born. Disgraceful."

"Hux."

"If you haven't taken him out behind the weapons shed, I don't see why you wouldn't! Can you imagine-" A blast from the Force cut him off. No, some things never changed.


	8. The Princess and the General

**Oh hey here's some Future Hux trash. I don't know why this idea is in my head.**

Grand Marshal Armitage Hux moved through his morning reports effortlessly, glancing over the aide's work and making a few corrections here and there. Every few minutes he glanced at his door expectantly, only to return to his work, slightly disappointed. His aide chattered about this project and that upcoming speech, but his mind was only half absent in the conversations.

It was 1000. The door usually blew open at 0915 or 0930. It was his favorite part of the day and as such, he refused to hold meetings an hour on either side of the informal standing appointment.

When 1015 passed, Hux turned to his aide and apologized to the girl for his lack of attentiveness. She glanced at the clock, blinked in surprise, glanced at the door herself, and then revisited a project from earlier.

How the years had changed things in the Order. The dissolution of the First Order had been the most dramatic time of his life, wrought with treason and romance, birth and death, danger and diplomacy. As a young man he'd thrived on the upheaval and change. Every day, every _hour_ was a chance to prove himself and he had, earning trust and respect of many, including the supreme leader and the girl who'd started everything. Years passed by and peace took hold. But there was still a government to run and Armitage Hux was a Grand Marshal, so life was still exciting; just in a less life-threatening way.

His aide Anya, the same age he was when he was first promoted to general, giggled at the speech script. "He'll _never_ say that," she laughed. "The Supreme Leader would never be so harsh. We're not at war, Grand Marshal."

Hux suddenly realized how old he'd become and was torn between being thankful and remorseful that the girl hadn't lived during the war. "No, but the Empress may."

Anya nodded. "You know them so well. How lucky to have lived through such a big event in history, and right there along the rest of the heroes."

"Heroes?" Chuckling, Hux shook his head. "You should have known us when we were young. You'd think differently."

Half an hour later, the distraction he expected blew through the door in a swirl of charcoal robes and curse words. His aide smiled and bowed, excusing herself as another woman, tall with long dark hair and bright, alert amber eyes scanned Hux's desk.

"What're you working on?" the newcomer barked. "I need you."

"Ah," Hux greeted her as the door shut behind Anya. "Wondered if I was going to see you today. You're late for your usual morning rant."

"I can't go out," she sighed forlornly, picking up a datapad from the desk and reading it.

"Confidential," Hux snapped, snatching it out of her hand.

"Princess," the woman replied smugly. "There's nothing on this ship confidential to me, Grand Marshal."

Hux marked her smirk with his own. "Well played. Now what's causing you such mortal pain, Princess?"

"Ask the Supreme Leader," she growled, the words dripping with annoyance. "They'll only let me onto planets where no one lives. What's so bad about Corellia? My father says I'm to stay on the ship. And you know Mother won't undermine him."

"Of course you can't go to Corellia," the general replied without hesitation. "Corellia is a cesspool of all manner of undesirable creatures. Bounty hunters among them, no doubt. A pretty price you'd bring for your little incident on Naboo, Princess, even after all this time."

The princess cleared her throat and shrugged. "It was hardly an incident." She threw her hands up and strolled to the window to gaze down on the planetscape below. "He acts like I'm still sloppy and irresponsible. It's been years."

"Six years." Nonplussed, Hux leaned forward to regain her attention. "And you were no child. You were _twenty-two_." He leaned forward. "Princess Gemma, I must agree that staying here with the guard would be best."

"It's not like I destroyed a planet or committed genocide," Gemma snarled. "So a few scumbags-"

"Politicians and allies to the Order," Hux corrected.

Gemma huffed. "Crime lords," she corrected his correction, "mysteriously disappeared."

"Allies and members of the New Senate were found murdered in a mysterious undetectable manner." Still, a bemused smile came to his lips. Hux had never reprimanded her for the attack, but couldn't bring himself to thank her, either. For years Kylo Ren and Empress Rey debated how to bring down the sex trafficking ring on Naboo, but in a surprise, calculated attack, their daughter took matters into their own hands. The dead politician crime lords had been very well-connected, though, and the price on Gemma's head was higher than anyone the galaxy had ever seen.

Gemma strutted back across his office to his desk and leaned against it as if she owned the place, her back to him as she continued to gaze out the window.

A fond smile came to the general's lips. He watched her shift slightly. "The Supreme Leader's word is law, Princess. If you can't go to Corellia, you can't go. I'm sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am. A prisoner on my own ship."

The air between them seemed to suddenly have an electric charge, but it no longer frightened him. Years of experience with Force users hardened him. Hux knew several self-learned tactics to deescalate the tension and looming Force energy. It worked most of the time, but when the princess and supreme leader were at odds, it was better to get out of the way or seek out Rey.

"I expected much more death and destruction when I first learned Kylo Ren was reproducing." He chuckled and patted her thigh. "One intergalactic diplomacy disaster was hardly beyond my power to address."

Gemma turned back to him, arms crossed once again. "I'm an adult! Kriff! I want to go to the market. I want to wander the streets. I want to be alone for once, not crammed on a ship with a million people." Her eyes, wide and pleading, bore into his. "Tell my father the Corellians wanted to see me at your New Senate meeting. I'd rather sit in the political talk than sit here alone."

Hux cleared his throat. As heartily as he agreed with Ren and Rey that the princess should be protected at all costs, she had a point. Besides, the princess could more than protect herself. "All right," he said softly. "You'll attend my meetings with me." He raised an eyebrow and studied her for a moment before offering her a sinister smile. "I must warn you that I may be quite distracted with business and could easily lose track of you." Gemma moved to celebrate, but he held up a finger. "But if there are any incidents, I swear I'll say I had nothing to do with it and make you wipe my mind so the supreme leader doesn't find out."

"Hux." Gemma studied his face, trying hard to keep her own neutral. "Are you sure?"

Now Hux laughed. "I've always sworn Ren would kill me for one thing or another. Why not forfeit my life in service to the princess?"

"Hux," Gemma joined in the laughter. "If you weren't so old, I'd kiss you." A glimmer in her eye threatened that she just might anyway.

* * *

The New Senate was made up of an interesting variety of senators. Some were politicians from the days of the First Order but others were simple workers without a clue how government worked. It made for a plethora of viewpoints as the empress demanded, but it slowed proceedings of any sort to a crawl as ideas and procedures were explained time and time again.

Hux sighed softly as the senator on the floor explained a fuel tax. Again. And then once more in the native language of the senator trying desperately to grasp the notion.

On one side, Anya took in-depth notes on her datapad, color-coding them as she did so. On his other side, Gemma was watching the proceedings in mild interest. Or so it seemed. Her knee brushed against his thigh and she muttered, "What about a New Senate stupid question tax?"

"Princess," he whispered. "Not everyone is as educated as you. Be kind. These are your people."

She feigned concern. "It was so like my parents to come up with this notion to represent everyone and then make _you_ attend these meetings." She stifled a giggle. "Oh, Grand Marshal. Will the abuse from my father never end?"

Their table wasn't near enough any other senators that their whispered conversation could be heard, but the movement was enough to distract the speaking senator.

"Your Highness," the senator quickly said. "Do you have something to add? I'd be charmed to hear your thoughts. Please, forgive me for droning on. The floor is yours."

Gemma smiled graciously. "No. Sorry. I was just asking for clarification on a point you made from the Grand Marshal. Carry on."

Hux nodded to the senator and the explanations continued. He turned to Gemma and shot her a look, but she winked in return. " _I'm going,"_ she mouthed.

He nodded curtly and turned his attention back to the speaker as Anya slide gracefully from her chair and moved silently toward the door. To be young and free, Hux mused.

"Where's the princess going?" Anya mumbled, noting her exit in her notes.

Hux reached over and quickly erased the statement. "The princess was here the entire time."

"Of course, Grand Marshal." Anya studied his face for a moment before returning her attention to the senator, a knowing smile on her face.

Only about an hour had passed before something struck Hux with the power of a door slamming shut and someone pouring cold water on him. He leapt to his feet and gasped for a breath. No one else seemed alarmed or even aware of the sudden urgency coursing through his body. He stood there pantin with fists clenched as the auditorium stared.

Anya looked around nervously. Unable to detect a threat, she lightly touched Hux's arm. "Grand Marshal? Are you well?"

"I have to go," he whispered suddenly. "Forgive me. It's the princess." He marched out of the auditorium and toward the door, ignoring the sudden silence. The moment he reached the hallway, he broke into a sprint.

* * *

Gemma Solo didn't go looking for trouble, but trouble always seemed to find her. It hadn't even been an hour since she winked at Grand Marshal Hux and slipped out of the meeting to shop the local fares and try new food, but her presence hadn't gone unnoticed by the criminal underground always sniffing after her. Drug and slave traffickers were certainly a connected group, and although she'd taken nearly a dozen of them out half a decade ago on a planet system far from here, word of her visit spread instantly. Bounty hunters seemed to appear out of the air.

Hux swore at the sight of a dozen well known bounty hunters lurking around her. In the crowd. In the middle of the street. Leaning against buildings. All watching the princess. Gemma crossed a street and found her way blocked. The hunters' hands covered their weapons, waiting for her inevitable Force attack. Gemma wet her lips and glanced from hunter to hunter. A man with his child happily babbling at his side crossed the street, close enough for her to reach out and touch. Should she move, the hunters could fire and kill the child.

A feral look was on her face now and Hux recognized it too well; a look her father often wore when the former supreme leader dared talk about the scavenger girl from Jakku.

Violence was imminent. Gemma was a caged animal, teeth bared and claws poised for attack.

Before he knew what he was doing, Hux heard himself blurt out, "Darling!" Gemma looked up to the senate building stairs where Hux was beckoning to her impatiently. "We'll be late!" he called. "Where have you been?" He stormed down the stairs past a pair of hunters, who exchanged glances. His heart pounded in the familiar way it did when someone was in a tight situation. Hux was a professional at cleaning up the Solos' messes by now and he simply considered it another job duty. Of course Gemma wouldn't be hurt; a dozen men were no match for her, but there were civilians in the crossfire and any more death at her hands would make her capture even more alluring to the hunters on her tail.

The princess turned, flustered by the pet name, then picked up a clear wave of his intentions. "Sorry, my love," she called back as he marched toward her sternly.

Thank the Force she was bright, Hux thought as she eagerly played along with his act.

Gemma reached out to embrace him, a cheery smile at her cheeks. "Can't we stay a bit longer, though? I was just looking at a-"

The instant he reached her, Hux's gloved hand rose and threatened to swing. "You don't question me, especially before these curs on this godforsaken planet," he snarled. "Next time I won't be so merciful."

The cluster of hunters circled still, but further away now. Doubt rippled through them, apparent on their faces and the way they shifted uncomfortably.

"Thank you," Gemma breathed.

"Come," Hux said loudly, wrapping an arm around her waist and shuffling her past the last of the bounty hunters and across the street. "I fancy a drink before the next council, if you've left me any money after your frivilous shopping."

The bar around the corner was dark and grimy and it was clear by the look on Gemma's face that she was shocked Hux chose to enter. Aware of a few hunters tailing them into the bar, he kept the act up and slid onto a stool at the shoddy bar. "Gin on the rocks," he said politely to a scowling bartender. "And whatever the lady wants."

"'The lady?'" Gemma scoffed.

He gave her a warning glance and the slightest nod to the door, where a trio of hunters entered. They took a table immediately by the window. There was no way she'd be able to leave without them knowing.

Gemma bit her tongue. "I'll have the same, please."

When the drinks arrived, Hux paid and then turned to her. His voice was low enough that the hunters by the door wouldn't hear. "I left you for an hour and you found the worst characters in town. Exactly what I expected, really." He leaned back and smiled. "And now this delightful rouse."

She tried her drink and wrinkled her nose. "This tastes like pine trees." She slid it to him and motioned to the bartender. "Something fruity, maybe?"

"You've tasted pine trees?" The corner of Hux's lip pulled upward.

The bartender slid her a tall glass with shimmering liquid inside. "Thank you," she said sweetly before turning to Hux. "Stop." She cleared her throat. "And thank you." She took a sip of her drink and puckered her lips. "Whoa. Now _that's_ a drink."

Hux smiled. "Tell me. What did you do before your run-in with trouble?"

"Shopped," she shrugged. "I do more than hunt down pedophiles and murderers, you know." She took another sip, taking care to lick the excess from her bottom lip.

"Slow down," Hux warned her. "The drinks here are notoriously strong. And lower your voice."

"Oh." Gemma sat back. She tucked her hair behind her ear and studied her hand. "Do you often bring girls to dark bars when you're on-planet?"

Hux looked at her in surprise. Her slightly parted lips and innocent gaze were features he'd rarely seen. He took another drink and leaned closer to her, his hand draping over the back of her chair. The pose was painfully awkward and disrespectful for someone of Gemma's station, but the longer they put on their charade of a couple, the more likely the bounty hunters were to leave. So he brushed a tendril of hair back from her face. "No. Not even as a young man, to be perfectly honest."

"Good."

"Why _did_ you ask?"

Gemma cleared her throat. "I don't know." Finally her amber eyes flickered back to his steel gray. "I don't like the thought of being plugged into your usual date routine."

"Date routine?" Hux chuckled. "No, darling."

"Careful, General. I could get used to that," Gemma muttered.

"To 'darling?'" The bold color in his face drained somewhat. His eyes shifted back to the hunters by the door. Amateurs. They watched without any discretion whatsoever. Still, holding eye contact with them was somehow less threatening than sharing it with the princess. "Whyever would that be?"

Gemma swiped her hair back from her forehead. "I've never been out like this with anyone." She stole a quick glance at him, then reached for her drink to preoccupy herself. "I know it's just an act, but-"

"I find it hard to believe you've never been to bar with a man." Hux studied her suspiciously. "What trick are you up to?"

She shrugged and studied her drink even harder. "Nothing." She stole a glance at the door and sighed in relief. "They've gone."

Hux confirmed that they were out of the bar before he sighed and sat back in his chair. "I had a feeling something was wrong so I excused myself. There's no further meeting beside the one I missed. Hopefully Anya was able to get our objectives accomplished and pushed through."

"Hux." Gemma frowned. "You didn't have to come after me. I had things covered. I was just thinking of the best way to get back into the building."

The general stared at her, incredulous. "You needed me."

"How did you know?" Mischief sparkled in her eyes. She pointed at him with the air of a victor. "Oh, General. You said you'd never let this happen. You swore you'd never see it as anything but dark magic."

He made a face and waved her off. "Kriff. Don't. Don't say it-"

"Admit it!" Gemma shrieked in delight. "Admit it! Say. It. Hux."

"No," Hux blurted. "It can't have been the Force. Just intuition, that's all."

Beaming, Gemma squealed and clapped her hands. "It is. You're tapping into the Force. After all these years of begging, you're finally paying attention to it!" She gave him a light shove and beamed in victory. "I knew you would."

"Yes, well." Hux pursed his lips now and tried to ignore her. "I couldn't just sit there knowing you were in danger. Your father would kill me. I'd kill myself if something were to happen to you." Finally he turned back to her. "But the bigger issue at hand isn't that at all. You- you _care_ who I spend my recreational time with?"

Gemma blushed. "I-I was only curious if you take Phasma, or-"

He patted the top of her hand. "No, Princess. I'm romantically unattached. For what it's worth." He motioned to the bartender for another drink.

She looked down at the black leather of his glove, which was resting on her hand. "Take them off. I don't think I've ever seen your hands."

He gave her a look. "You never shall. They're uniform."

She caught a fingertip and gave it a tug. "I command it. Take off your gloves." She locked eyes with him and smiled. "And I know you'll never refuse me. Even if I weren't a royal."

He pulled his hand away. "You're incorrigible." Still, he snatched off his gloves and wiggled his fingers at her. "Is that everything you dreamed of?"

Dragging her fingertips over his bare palm, she beamed. "Yes. I can't believe you're out of uniform in front of a princess, Grand Marshal. What a scandal." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and offered him a coy smirk.

Suddenly the tracing of her fingernails was too much to bear and he snatched his hand away, but at the look of confusion on her face, Hux immediately offered it once again. She caressed the length of his fingers with slow, deliberate strokes. Hux wondered if she was trying to read something about him via the Force. He sat mesmerized by the motion for a moment before straightening and reaching for his drink with his free hand. "Yes, well, I suppose it's time I had some scandal in my life that I caused for once, instead of cleaning up everyone else's."

"Have I ever told you I think you know me the best out of anyone?" Her fingers no longer caressed his skin, but instead grasped his hand in hers.

Hux's eyes widened and he blinked at her numbly. "Me?"

She licked her lips. "Hux. I see what's in your mind. The guilt. Why?" Her head cocked with curiosity. "I don't mean to pry. I'm not trying to read your thoughts- they're just-"

"I know," Hux huffed. "I can't stop them. I never can when you're around, no matter how hard I try." He looked at her momentarily as if he feared her. The expression passed and he struggled for words. "The shame? Yes, I'm ashamed to feel this way. I remember when you were born." He studied her face. The features had sharpened and matured over the years right in front of him. No, Gemma wasn't the round-faced child, but rather a woman with a beautiful, angular face and hard, long limbs. Her amber eyes were like those of her father's, but her hair was long and chestnut like her mother's. At the moment Hux failed to see other in her. There was only Gemma.

Her hand crept to the back of his neck now, one finger gingerly brushing back and forth in his hair.

Hux's ears burned red and goosebumps raised down his spine and arms. "Princess." His voice was no more than a whisper, but as she drew nearer, his hand landed on her thigh.

"Why fight it?" Her lips brushed against his cheek as she examined his thoughts. Desire. Fear. Trust. Shame. Happiness. Duty.

"Princess," he mumbled like a man in pain. "Please."

"Tell me to stop and I will," Gemma said. The man was clearly having a struggle of epic magnitude in his soul. She didn't want to push him one way or another, but she certainly knew what her desire was. She gazed into his eyes and waited for him to object.

Instead, he gave his head a soft shake and let his eyes wander to her lips before leaning in and lightly taking her bottom lip between his. The kiss was gentle and tentative at first, but as soon as Gemma reciprocated, he intensified his motions. Years, now-two or three, perhaps?-he'd wondered after the feeling of her full lips and the curve of her waist. Even more intriguing were the ideas she had and things she said that no one else dared utter. Every time the princess draped herself over his desk and spilled her thoughts to him, he felt himself fall more in love with her. Even with the Supreme Leader's ability to both read minds and end lives effortlessly, Hux's thoughts of Gemma were intrusive and impossible to battle back. Half of the time he didn't want to, anyway.

The background sounds of the bar faded away. Hux's hands found the small of her back and smashed Gemma against him, nearly pulling her onto his bar stool. She let out a soft giggle in surprise. The bartender rolled his eyes and ignored them.

"Hux," Gemma breathed into his mouth. She slid her tongue along his top lip. He met it with his own. His fingers dragged from her back to her hips. His left hand staggered along something hard at her hip. For a moment he traced the outline, pondering what it could be, so hard and cool against her warm, soft body. It was her light saber. Kylo Ren's old saber. Suddenly he pulled away and lightly pushed her back onto her own stool.

She was Princess Gemma Solo. In his grasp. On his lips. He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth. "No. This is wrong. Forgive me. I-"

"Stop." She casually brushed back her hair and took another drink of the fruity concoction before her. The swirling emotions were finally at rest and Gemma took a deep, refreshing breath. It was as if she could relax for the first time in years.

Hux cast a sidelong glance at her before draining the rest of his drink. He reached for her abandoned gin and downed that, too. He exhaled, his cheeks puffing out as he did. "The Supreme Leader-"

"Isn't expecting our return to the ship until tomorrow afternoon." Gemma glanced at a clock behind the bar and smiled. "Since you've missed the meeting, I don't see why we don't get dinner and head back to the hotel."

Hux pursed his lips and cast his eyes downward. "Princess, I-"

"You should put your glove back on," she added playfully. "The Grand Marshal out of uniform in front of the princess in a scuzzy bar?" She winked. "I wonder what they'd say about that."


	9. Dark Attack

**Warning: dark AF. Hux #MeToo**

Nothing made General Armitage Hux uncomfortable. There wasn't an order or objective that could make him squirm. No, General Hux was stoic and tried, had seen and certainly done it all. Hell, he'd given the order to have his own father killed. Hux was a hard man.

He arrived in the gym to workout at 0400 every morning. Morning for him, middle of the night for everyone else. The gym looked every bit as normal as every other morning; clean floors and empty exercise machines, except today someone was using the usually empty room to stash an officer-turned-prisoner. A woman chained to a weight rack in the gym, her eyes swollen and lip split down the middle, made his stomach churn.

The young female human looked up at him suspiciously. "General Hux?" Even bloody and beaten, chained to a rack, the First Order officer remembered her formalities.

Hux wanted to be pleased by her commitment to protocol, but was only horrified by the sight of her. It looked like she'd come from battle. Blood stained the pristine gray uniform, which was torn open to reveal bruises and dried blood mixed with fresh across her bare breasts. Other obvious signs of abuse were scattered across her collarbone and neck, and no doubt trailed down her arms under her sleeves. A large chunk of hair had come lose from her uniform bun and hung over half of her face. Her name badge read DAWSON and Hux tried to remember any incidents concerning that name. The uniform itself spoke of an administrative role, not military. The knowledge made his stomach squirm further.

"Officer?" he asked hesitantly. "What's the meaning of this?" Hux looked over his shoulder, suddenly hyper-aware. His hand went to the concealed holster under his arm. No one would ever find the general unarmed, not even at 0400.

"General," Dawson managed. "Please. Please, before he comes back." Dawson tugged at the restraints holding her to the weight rack. "He left to get his blaster." She shifted and Hux saw the darker nature of the assault. Her skirt was torn up the middle. Blood ran down her thighs.

"Dawson," Hux groaned. "Stars."

She nodded and looked down, trying to force her lip to stop quivering. "Forgive my state of dress, General. I'd only returned from my shift and he dragged me out of-"

"Forgiven," Hux spat, shaken that in her dire situation, she worried about protocol. It had been endearing but now he couldn't believe she'd waste time to use titles. "Who did this? He's coming back _here_?" He spun and fixed his blaster on the door. "Who is it?"

When the door whirred open not a moment later, a trooper out of uniform strolled back in, blaster in hand. He froze when he saw the general but quickly moved to fire.

"That's him!" Dawson called out in rage and horror. "FN-"

Without hesitation, Hux fired a clean shot to the head and sighed in annoyance as the body crumpled to the floor. Phasma wouldn't love waking up to clean up the body, but he radioed her anyway and thanked her profusely when she groggily agreed to report.

"General," Dawson breathed. Her eyes were wide as the swelling would allow as she stared at him in surprise. "Did – did you mean to kill him? I'm sure you meant to stun-"

He holstered his weapon. "Problem solved. I trust you'll corroborate what happened here. A filthy rapist attacked an officer and pulled a weapon on me. All clearly premeditated." When she nodded, he rushed to her. "Come. We'll get you to a med bay. Can you walk?"

"General," Dawson breathed. "Thank you. He- he said the missing captain- he said he did the same thing to her and that he was going to put me with her body when he was done."

Hux swore loudly. His stomach lurched once more and he had to take a deep breath through his nose in order to keep from vomiting. "I hoped she was AWOL by choice." Waking to a sexual assault and news of a serial rapist wasn't the morning he expected. The room spun for a moment. He focused on the dead rapist on the ground. He only wished he'd tortured the monster. "He got better than he deserved, but at least he'll not assault another of my officers. I'm very sorry this happened to you. I'm so sorry."

Dawson nodded and stared blankly at the floor as Hux freed her from her restraints. When her hands were free she gingerly pulled her uniform shut, scoffing when she realized it was ripped beyond repair. Danger past, she realized her nakedness and began to blush. When the last of the restraints were cut, she stood and looked as though she may cry.

"Here." Hux pulled off his shirt and gave it to her. "I'm afraid my jacket's in my quarters so this is all I can offer you. Only a few guards are on patrol and the med bay isn't far. I assure you there's no further danger from me." Still, he imagined he looked strange standing there in nothing but his athletic bottoms and shoulder holster. Goosebumps rolled down his bare shoulders and chest. He felt exposed, but he was seeing Dawson on the worst moments of her life.

She nodded and eagerly pulled on his shirt, black enblazoned with the red First Order insignia. Wincing as she moved, Dawson squeaked out her thanks. "I don't know him. I've never even seen his file. I don't know his name." Her face went blank as she looked down at the drops of blood on the floor. After a moment she dared to look up to Hux. "I didn't provoke him, General. I swear."

"No," Hux interrupted in a harsh growl, grabbing her and spinning her to face him. She gasped and met his gaze with surprised eyes. He released her, immediately regretting touching her. "Of course you didn't provoke him. Put such ridiculous thoughts out of your mind." He motioned to the door, then balled his hands into fists. "Come. The med bay."

"Yes, General." She shuffled along, pain clear on her face. Her eyes sparkled with tears and jaw twitched as she clenched her teeth. She caught Hux's gaze and sniffled. Her bottom lip began to tremble.

Hux _hated_ feeling vulnerable, but he felt as if he owed it to her somehow. "I'll let you in on a secret, Dawson. My life hasn't been all prestige and honors. I've had to do unspeakable things and endure unspeakable things being done to me to get where I am today." Her pursed his lips and looked at her. The understanding on her face gave him a shock of both comfort and humiliation. "I feel somewhat better with that man dead at my hand. Karma, if you believe in that sort of thing. Trust that I know precisely how you're feeling. You'll come through and be stronger for it, even though you shouldn't have to be." He sniffed and tried not to look at her state of ruin. She'd fallen behind a few steps and he slowed and waited for her to catch up. "I apologize," he muttered. He extended an arm toward her and nodded. "May I?"

She nodded and leaned heavily on him as he wrapped an arm around her waist. He could just imagine the whispers that would burn through the ranks at their bloody, undressed state. He tolerated many rumors, but he'd murder the first man who whispered that he was a predator.

* * *

Dawson had only stirred moments before when the ginger general paused in her doorway.

"General!" She sat up at attention and nodded for him to enter.

"At ease," Hux said softly. He lingered by the bed for a moment before sitting at the foot of it, careful not to touch her.

Dawson looked to the medical droid in confusion. It backed away.

Hux studied her face. He wasn't sure whether the officer looked better or worse. The blood was wiped away but bruises had blossomed here and there with time. Her black eyes spread like a masquerade mask and nearly reached her jaw, brilliantly green and purple. One arm was bandaged, and he didn't dare think about her more southern regions. "Are you well?"

She pursed her lips and nodded. "I'm not pregnant and I was not infected with-"

Hux shook his head and interrupted. "No. I know you're hurt. Are you _well_?" he repeated.

"Yes, General." She mustered a small smile. "Or I will be. Thank you again for saving me."

The choice of words threw him off his rhythm. "Saving?" he repeated. "I was only there to work out. I did what any member of the First Order should do."

She lowered her chin and cast him a pessimistic look from beneath her brows. "General. Do you truly think I would have had such an outcome should another trooper or officer have found me?" She shook her head. "I'm glad it was you."

Hux cleared his throat. He didn't want to admit the wild streak in some of the troops, so he merely turned his head. It would be addressed soon. "If there's any additional care or counseling you feel you need, tell them you have my authorization." He brought up his authorization code on his datapad and showed it to her. "Memorize that and use it if anyone troubles you. It's my personal code."

"Thank you, General."

Hux nodded curtly. "Well then. Recover quickly. Think not on what happened. No one will touch another person on this ship without their consent. I'll make sure of it."

Several plans for punishment and deterrent whirled through his mind, but the craziest idea concerned Ren and his mind-reading knights. Enthused by the idea of using them to his benefit, he strode from the med bay in search of the Force users. _Rapists won't be tolerated in the First Order. We'll eliminate them before they strike._


	10. Clone Wars

**A/N: Yeah, it's time for some Hux shenanigans again.**

The alarm blared at General Hux from the bedside table. He acknowledged it with a frown. Already time to get up and head to the gym? That couldn't be right. It had only just been three o'clock. He smashed the button and rolled over, burying his face in the pillow. Physical exercise could wait until tomorrow. After all, he'd been up doing it most of the night, anyway, to some extent. He raised his head curiously and squinted at his bed mate.

The woman stretched in bed beside him was illuminated by the faint overhead lights, which were programmed to fade up as soon as the alarm chimed. White skin glowed almost blue under the fluorescents and Hux _hmm_ ed in appreciation. She was a tall human, pale with dark features and an even darker sense of humor.

"Korra," he said softly.

She rolled over and sighed heavily. "Hux."

"Armitage, please." He smirked. "Or General would be fine." He gave her ass a firm swat. "I quite enjoyed that last night."

"Hux," she repeated definitively into the pillow.

Things were different. He'd taken certain liberties regarding Kylo Ren and the rebels. They didn't stand a chance against the First Order, but if he leaked them enough information, they could certainly make Kylo Ren look like the idiot he was. He smiled at the ceiling. General Armitage Hux had life by the balls and didn't intend to let up now.

"I've called off this morning's plans," he announced. "It appears I have time for extra curriculars." Hux lazily traced a hand over her ribs. "I can relieve you from duty. No one would bat an eye."

The woman called Korra raised her head. "You have no idea what I do, do you?"

He hesitated. Her role never crossed his mind. Since the first time he saw her, he was absolutely bewitched. "I haven't pulled your personnel chart, no. What _do_ you do? Engineering department, if I had to guess. Personnel as a second guess."

"What if I told you I was a stowaway?" Korra purred, stretching her long arms. "Would you take me to the brig?"

Hux sniggered. "Impossible. I'd say accounting but that's far too boring for a spit of hellfire like you." He watched her smooth her hair back. So dark. So wild. She wore it in a low bun with her uniform cap when out and about on the ship, but it was the first thing he snatched from her body and threw to the floor last night. Months of her dark glances in corridors and her brushing too close in passing had come to a head a few weeks ago when he finally pulled her into a secluded closet and let her, an inferior, rip his uniform off and have her way with him. Now their meetings were regular. Korra made herself at home in his quarters and he was shocked to find that he didn't mind. For never sitting in on a single department head meeting, there was some power simmering in her. Hux could easily see her commanding the First Order at his side instead of Kylo Ren.

"I'm quite fond of you," Korra said as she swung her legs over the bed and began to pull on her uniform. "That's why this is going to be hard for you to hear."

He pursed his lips. _He knew it._ A plot. She was a mole, but placed by who? He hadn't done anything wrong, necessarily. Sure, officers frowned upon seeing inferiors, but Korra didn't report to him. He had no idea who she even reported to, and that made everything that much safer. His heart skipped a beat. Or was she a mole placed by the rebels? Either way, if Kylo Ren found out about his scheming, Hux was a dead man.

Korra extended her arm. Hux was about to ask what she was doing when a bowl from the other side of his quarters sailed across the room smacked into her palm. _The Force._

"No," Hux groaned. "Not you, too." He instinctively cradled his head, as if his fingers could protect him from another Force interrogation. "Please don't."

Korra frowned. "I'm not going to do anything to you. I just said I was fond of you."

"You work for Kylo Ren? What is it he wants that he cannot find out for himself?" Hux swallowed and scooted away from her. "I have a good many resources at my disposal. Whatever your arrangement is, I'll-"

"I _am_ Kylo Ren."

Hux stared. "I beg your pardon?"

Korra shrugged slightly. "A clone. With some obvious modifications," she grinned, gesturing to her body. "Engineered on Kamino. I was sent here to destroy Kylo Ren, but I can't say I can stomach the idea. I guess they didn't expect his power – our power - to be so hard to control." Her grin turned into a self satisfied smirk. "They didn't think I had a mind of my own until they set me loose. Their mistake." She toyed with the bowl before floating it across the room and gently setting it back down in place. "So now I'm here."

Hux barely heard her. "Kylo Ren." He bared his teeth. "You're telling me I've been fucking Kylo Ren."

"Please," Korra scoffed. "There are enough modifications-"

"No." _Not Kylo Ren._ Hux tried to ignore thoughts of the previous night, but they barged through his thoughts. Kylo Ren. In his bed. On his tongue. Under his fingers. _Gods._ His stomach churned and he felt briefly nauseous. Kylo Ren was an attractive man, but there was no question each man would murder the other in an instant if they didn't have half a need for each other. Would Korra feel the same and inflict the same agony as her counterpart?

Korra looked out the window into space. "Don't worry. He doesn't even know I exist. I came, I saw, I decided I can hardly kill him since he's me, and now I'm biding my time and deciding my next step. Whose side to join? Which cause to rally behind?" She turned back to him, eyes flashing. "Choices, choices."

"Mine," Hux whispered. He turned back to her, eyes wide. "My cause. I could use someone like you, if only to protect me from Ren."

Korra hesitated. "I think you require protection from far more than the supreme leader." She settled next to him on the bed. "I wouldn't quite trust your friends in the resistance, either." She kissed him on the neck as he gaped for words. "Until I decide, sure. I'll make sure no one offs you."


	11. Hux Joins the Resistance

_Day Two with the Resistance_  
Exotic scented suds bubbled to life in the large tub, pink and green and blue, depending how the light hit it. Tempting but suspicious, Hux thought.

It was his second day on the rebel base. _His_ new base. The thoughts still weren't automatic, and constantly reminding himself that he was a _we_ with these people was exhausting. The scavenger girl, especially. Rey. She unnerved him something terrible. Now she was perched on an upturned crate serving as a primitive vanity in the refresher tent, swinging her legs casually as he scrutinized the situation for any potential sabotage.

"This isn't just a ploy to disarm and disrobe me?" Hux deadpanned.

Rey raised an eyebrow. "You're with us now. Why would I try to do that?"

Hux raised an eyebrow in return. "If you have no intention of giving me privacy, at least turn around while I undress." She did and the former general stripped off his First Order uniform, suddenly distressed it would be the last time he would do so. He was a good general. Or could have been, if it wasn't for the Force users getting in the way and ruining everything. Snoke, Kylo Ren. Nuisances in what would have been a beautiful military career marked by upward promotion and success. Instead, he was a laughingstock and a punching bag in their haphazardly formed plans. His finesse? Worthless in their eyes. Actual potential and skill didn't matter to Snoke or Kylo Ren. Always seeking another Force user younger or stronger or lighter or darker.

Now, even away from the Order, here Hux was getting into a bath under the watchful eye of another wizard. Rey seemed compassionate, but he didn't trust her as far as he could throw her.

"Very well," Hux sighed once he was fully submerged in the frivolous bath. He sank further into the bubbles, suddenly aware of their appeal. The hot water and sweet scent was pleasant. Much more so than a cold shower in the refresher aboard his ship. _Their_ ship. The _enemy_ ship,he reminded himself. Hux knew he should take what pleasantries he could while he could. "Is it standard procedure to bathe together here? I can't imagine a buddy system to be necessary within camp lines."

Rey cringed. "Oh. No. Sorry. I just thought we could have a word in private."

His stomach dropped to the bottom of his abdomen. _Kriff._ Mustering the gusto, he cleared his throat. "So I imagine you mean to interrogate me, then." His voice was infinitely calmer than his mind. Any time he was alone with Snoke or Kylo Ren, someone was pushing through his mind; uncontrolled and cruel. The phantom of the sickening migraine throbbed through his head.

Rey frowned and Hux momentarily wanted to trust her. There was a time he thought Kylo Ren might be an ally too, however. "Get on with it, then," he spat.

"General-" Rey shook her head. "I mean, Armitage, your intel has been proof enough. You're one of us now. I mean it. No one's going to hurt you."

Bristling at her use of his first name, Hux cleared his throat. "What secret conversation are you seeking, then?" When she blushed furiously, he realized the answer. "Ah. Ren."

"He's my equal in the Force," Rey explained quickly. "I can bring Ben Solo back." She fidgeted with one panel of the wrap she always wore. Her voice lowered. "It's… what Leia wants me to do. You know him better than anyone. I thought you could help me."

Hux sat up straighter and narrowed his eyes. He may not be able to read minds, but he could certainly tell when someone was lying. He held her gaze. "The others don't know you're in near constant communication with him, do they?"

Rey blushed. "I…don't know what you mean."

He leaned forward. Water sloshed over the side of the tub onto the grass. "I've seen security recordings, heard him mutter your name." This was the moment that mattered. This was where he ensured his survival as a member of the resistance. "The others thought Ren was crazy, but I knew he was speaking with you."

Her face paled. "I've heard you can connect with spirits of the dead through the Force," she replied quickly. "Perhaps it was Darth Vader. Master Skywalker. How am I supposed to know who Ben was talking to?"

"You keep saying we're on the same side." Hux pursed his lips for a moment and watched her spirits visibly fall. "I'll keep your secret if you promise me protection." He gripped the tub and spoke softly but urgently. "Any of these rebels would kill me without a second thought. Your friendship could be of great value to keeping me alive. I also assume they wouldn't be thrilled to know you spend your evenings making eyes at the man trying to blot this rebellion out. We can help each other."

Rey sighed and a weight seemed to list from her. "You knew but didn't tell anyone in the Order? You hate Kylo Ren. You could have destroyed him."

Hux scoffed. "There is no destroying Kylo Ren. He'd have killed me with a look if he suspected a plot and that would have been the end of it." He suddenly frowned. "Can he see me right now?" He sank lower into the bath.

"No," Rey snapped. "He sees _me._ If I touch him, we can be in the same place. Kind of." She shook her head. "It's hard to explain, but no. It's not like he can look through my eyes. And it's not all the time."

Hux relaxed somewhat. "I pity you being subjected to constant mental visits from that brute." He stroked his chin. It had been _years_ since he went a day without shaving. The stubble was a foreign feeling under his fingers. His new life was strange in many ways. He smiled and traced a small circle on the surface of the water. "We can help each other, Rey of Jakku. Tell me what you want to know of Kylo Ren and I'll help you pit his knights against him. He'll have no choice but to come running to you."

* * *

 _Two Weeks In the Resistance_  
Sunlight breaking through a flap in his tent roused Armitage from sleep. He breathed deeply and stretched generously. "Millie?" he mumbled sleepily. "What time did you get in?"

When no response came, Hux's heart leapt into his throat. He sat upright and looked around frantically. Millicent was nowhere in his tent. Her bed, something Rey hobbled together, was empty, and her things untouched. The camp was in the middle of a forest and predators lurked just beyond the camp's edge. The poor girl hadn't been on planet in her whole life, and now she had run of an entire campsite. Heart thudding, Hux tore out of his tent and through the camp.

"Have you seen Millie?" he asked frantically, stopping rebels at tables and campfires. Someone finally pointed toward a tent.

"Millie?" Hux gasped, bursting through the tent flap. Millicent was nestled in the arms of General Leia Organa, purring and nuzzling her face against the woman's neck. When she spotted her master, the cat flicked her tail and blinked.

"Re _lax_ ," the older general scoffed. "She visits me all the time. I was beginning to wonder when _you_ would."

An unintentional mascot, Millicent bebopped around camp when Hux was working, pouncing on mice and becoming a beloved family member to everyone she encountered. It was strange, considering she'd been born on a First Order ship and spent the first few years of her life as contraband on the Finalizer. The poor beast had never been on actual ground. She was clearly loving it.

Hux rushed forward and snatched the cat from the general. "Don't _do that,_ Millie!" he scolded her before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Bad girl! Don't scare me like that!"

"I don't believe we've met," Leia said coolly. "So you're our mole."

He straightened and looked into the general's face. He froze. This was exactly why he'd been avoiding her. He'd seen those eyes. Hux stumbled backward. _Kylo Ren's eyes._ Another kriffing Force user. Nodding numbly, he offered a salute. "Yes, General Solo."

"Put that hand down. General Solo was my husband," she replied casually. "I'm General Organa. But here, Leia is fine. Thanks for coming over, even with the demotion." She winked and reached out and scratched Millie behind the ears. "Rey tells me you worked with my son." Her fingers stopped moving, but just momentarily.

He nodded. "I'm beginning to think the only reason I wasn't shot on sight is because of the information I have on the supreme leader."

"No," Leia chuckled. "I think Rey's perfectly capable of handling Ben."She smiled just a little. "He was one of us, just as easily as you're one of us now. People can change for better or worse in the blink of an eye." Striking out a hand, Leia nodded. "Welcome to the resistance, Armitage."

He tentatively took her hand, surprised at the strength in her grip. "Hux is fine."

The jungle was hot and humid, but something about organic atmosphere and air was satisfying in a way a ship's recycled air was not. Hux's lungs felt healthier, even if he was puffing desperately as he jogged along.

"Mind if I join you?"

Hux startled at the sudden voice. He recognized it and immediately prickled. The cocky pilot. He picked up his pace and pretended not to hear. He couldn't get a moment away from these people. All he wanted was a quiet workout where he could try to corral his thoughts.

"I need to jog more," Poe called as he caught up. "Gotta be able to fit in the cockpit." He trotted along easily, making Hux doubly self conscious about his physical fitness. "You don't strike me as a jogging kind of guy," the pilot noted as sweat dripped off the tip of Hux's nose.

"I prefer yoga," he panted.

Poe balked. "Yoga? The First Order does _yoga_?"

Teeth bared, Hux tried to pull ahead. He stole a glance at the pilot, who was easily keeping pace with him. There was nothing on Poe's face that might give away hostility or an ulterior motive other than company on his run. Still, Hux disliked the obnoxious man. Being on the same side didn't mean they had to be bosom buddies. "I prefer working out alone," Hux puffed.

Nonplussed, Poe continued. "Ha! Sounds familiar. You'd get along with Rey. She's into all that. Meditation. Centering herself." He rolled his eyes. "Not as good as actual training, but does she listen to me? No. She won't get in a fighter. All she does is sit and levitate rocks."

 _These people are my allies. These people are my allies._ Hux pursed his lips and tried to appear friendly even as he gritted his teeth.

"So there's Rey," Poe ticked off on his fingers. "Connix is great. She'll like you, if you haven't gotten to know her already. Rose? Probably not after that whole Canto Bight thing. And Finn's not too keen on you coming over, either."

Hux stopped jogging and struggled to slow his breath. "I'd nearly forgotten FN-2187. One of my biggest failures."

Poe slowed down and jogged in place. "Yeah, buddy. He thinks you're actually a double agent." He snorted. "You don't seem like the type. I still can't believe you were a mole for us. What made you do it? Was it our long talks?" He winked. Hux fumbled for a response, but Poe chuckled. "Nah. I always knew you were a rebel." A charming smile flashed across his face and Hux tried to ignore it. "Don't worry," Poe continued. "You'll settle in just fine. Let me know if you need anything. _Anything,"_ he added coyly. He slapped Hux on the ass. "I think we're gonna be friends. I can feel it."

* * *

 _Two Months in the Resistance_

Life with the rebels was bizarrely fulfilling. They made little strides in the war here and there. Nothing substantial, but enough. Hope blazed even in the face of horrendous odds. The gold droid made sure to bring the mood down occasionally, but there was something joyous about the atmosphere, even in the dead of night. Campfires were merry and even before flying off on a mission that could be their last, rebels joked and sang and embraced like family. Hux wondered if anyone would hug him when he eventually left on his first mission.

A thunderstorm rolled into camp one evening. Hux set down his straight razor and watched the light rain and distant lightning. The thunder was soothing. Everything about an actual atmosphere was. Hux felt like a new man, though he wasn't entirely sure what to attribute it to. He wondered if his former crewmates would even recognize him. He had a respectable beard by now, and his hair hadn't been coiffed since he left the Order.

As the rain began to pour harder, Hux began to batten down the tent. Millie mewed anxiously and curled up in her bed, watching his every movement and flinching at each new rumble of thunder. When Hux reached the tent flap, he paused and glanced across the camp. A few of the younger rebels were playing in the rain, dancing and laughing. Hux briefly regretted missing out on youth all together. Sighing, he pulled the flap back and started to secure it.

A frightened voice was hardly audible over the pounding rain. "Armie!" A hooded figure poked its head into the tent just as he peeled it back once more.

"Rey. Come in, come in," Hux said, pulling her into the tent. "What is it?" He frowned at the way she dripped all over, but tempered his annoyance. He would forgive her for almost anything. It started as essentially having his own bodyguard, but in time he came to enjoy her easy way. From afternoon tea to yoga, Hux enjoyed the time he and Rey spent together.

Aware of his preferences by now, Rey pulled off her poncho and let it drop to the floor in a wet lump. "I… don't like storms." She kicked off her boots and settled on the ground next to Millie's bed. The cat purred and rubbed her head against Rey's palm. When the next boom of thunder rolled through camp, they both jumped and huddled closer together.

"Ah." Hux continued to tighten the joints and supports. "I don't imagine Jakku has many storms of this nature. Does the Falcon have a leak?"

"No. It's just so loud," Rey said, watching lightning flash through the canvas of the tent. "When will it be over?"

"When it's over," Hux replied. "Unless you can do something about it." He raised an eyebrow, actually curious. He'd seen her shoot lightning from her fingers while especially frustrated during training. It was something he didn't dare bring up to her.

"No," she answered quickly. Rey frowned and looked at her hands. She balled her fingers into fists. "Sorry, if you were doing something." She pulled Millie into her lap and stroked the cat's ears fondly. "Thanks."

"Even if I were busy, it doesn't cost me any time of effort to spare some company." Hux sat on the foot of his bed and leaned his chin on his hand. "Would you like to play a game of cards? I think the current standings are 60 hands to 52. A respectable showing for a desert rat."

Rey suddenly looked distant, like she was looking past him entirely.

"Ren?" Hux asked softly. Rey nodded, but he wasn't sure which of them she was communicating with. He tried to ignore the soft one sided conversation, which seemed to center around her fear of the storm. After a few minutes, Hux cleared his throat. "Can… he hear me?"

Rey looked up in surprise. "No." She gave a lopsided smile to someone to the side of Hux. "He's my friend," she said. A scowl. "Well, he's here with me and you're not." Smirk. Finally she looked back to Hux. "What do you need to tell him?"

Hux cleared his throat. "Tell him I'm watching over you." Rey tilted her head but said nothing. Hux steeled himself. "Tell him that I watch for you to exhaust yourself and make you eat and sleep when otherwise you would not. Tell Kylo Ren that I am here in his stead, and that should mean something to him." His breath caught in his chest as Rey repeated his words verbatim back to the supreme leader. Hux almost wished he could see his face. Almost.

"Okay," she nodded. Her eyes flicked back to Hux's. "He says thanks."

Hux frowned. "That's it? He can't pretend he doesn't spend every waking moment wondering after you. He may hate me, but-" Another boom of thunder shook instruments on his desk.

Rey jumped from the floor to his bed. Millicent yowled and hid under the cot. Another sharp crack sounded like it was splitting the camp in two. Shrieking, Rey clutched his arm and buried her face in his neck. His heart hammered at the prospect that Kylo Ren could see his girlfriend in his arms. Hux gingerly stroked her hair and chuckled. "And to think I once worried you were more sinister than Kylo Ren. You're nothing more than a frightened kitten."

Shivering, Rey giggled and sat up. "I can't help it. It's so loud." She looked over his shoulder and smiled sheepishly.

"What is he saying?" Hux asked. He tried to sit up, but Rey was firmly settled in his lap with her arms linked through his.

"Nothing," Rey said quickly. She blinked a few times. "He's gone."

Hux cleared his throat. "You're the only thing Kylo Ren ever cared about. I only hope he remembers my affection for you if one day he's faced with the option to kill me."

* * *

 _Six Months in the Resistance_

Months had passed by without much noise from the First Order. Hux liked to think it was his absence that kept them from finding the rebel base, but he strongly suspected it had something to do with Kylo Ren's ongoing relationship with Rey.

It didn't matter at the moment. Today there was some commotion stirring outside his tent that woke him. Hux's head pounded like no other. The late night drinking with Poe turned into an early morning drinking with Poe and it felt like he'd only just gotten into bed. He would be nursing a hangover for days.

" _They're here! They're back!_ " voices called.

Hux stretched and sat up slowly, testing his stomach. Whoever was here could wait until later. He retched into a trash receptacle he'd placed by the bed last night for this exact purpose. Back to sleep.

A few hours later a weight settled on Hux's bed and he looked up sleepily. Poe flopped down on his back beside him and groaned. "I didn't think you could actually cut loose," Poe mumbled into Hux's pillow. He petted Hux's hair, which was tucked behind his ears and flopped over his face. "You look like shit."

The closeness was nothing new, as Hux had quickly learned about Poe, but his awful breath made Hux's stomach churn. "Go away," Hux groaned. He snatched the pillow from under Poe's head and covered his own face with it. "Leave me here to die. You smell like a trash bin."

Poe chuckled. "Yeah. Well. I thought you'd want warning. Rey's home. She'll be in here in no time, jumping on the bed and asking why you aren't awake. It's noon."

Hux sat up once more, surprised to feel better than earlier. "She is? Why hasn't she come by yet?" He rubbed his eyes. "I thought she'd miss me. It's been weeks." He'd been surprised to realize how much he missed her.

Poe was an exhausting whirlwind of a human, but he'd certainly kept things interesting in the weeks Rey was away. He was affectionate and loud and Hux was shocked to find they got along swimmingly once he let his old grudges go.

"You smell too, ya slob." Poe rolled over and groaned as he swung his legs over the bed. "C'mon. Shower with me, you sexy sack of bones."

"Once, just once, can you be reasonable? I'm not going to shower with you."

Poe pouted. "Fine. Your loss." He moved slowly from the tent, cradling his pounding head as he went.

Hux gave a lopsided smile. It had finally happened. He had _friends._

After a long shower and several mugs of water, Hux felt like a human again. He hadn't seen Rey, so he sought her out. Finding her wasn't hard. It was like a magnet pulled him to her. He marched across camp and ran headlong into her when she abruptly turned a corner in front of him. They tumbled to the ground.

"You're home!" Hux called as they got to their feet and she pulled him into a warm hug. "I missed our nightly tea. These heathens only drink liquor."

"You smell like, it," Rey laughed. "I missed you, too!"

"How was your mission? Productive, I expect."

"I did it." Rey pointed across the camp to Leia's tent where a small crowd was mulling outside. She bounced from her heels to her toes.

"What'd you do?" Hux squinted at Leia's tent. A tall figure emerged and the crowd froze.

Kylo Ren was striding confidently out of the tent like he was still the commanding officer, not an enemy war criminal who had not long ago decimated half of the resistance. Rebels scowled at him, but he merely gazed past them, his sight set on Rey. He still donned his black tunic and cloak, but for a moment Hux thought there might be something different about him.

Hux shook his head. "No, no. I came here to _get away from him._ " His chest tightened and Hux gasped for a breath. "Don't tell him I'm here!"

"Armie," Rey called after him. "And he already knows you're here. And this is good!"

"Like hell it is!"

* * *

Later that week, Kylo Ren peeled a citrus fruit and watched Hux from across the table. The dining tent had cleared, leaving the two men staring at each other. It was the first time they'd been alone without Leia or Rey.

"So," Ren said. "You're babysitting me."

Hux cleared his throat. "Some things never change." The blaster the last guard had pressed into his hand felt so ridiculous he'd abandoned it on the table between them. It was a farce. No one in the camp could control Kylo Ren but Rey. Why they decided to post a man on him at all times, Hux had no idea.

"Rey speaks highly of you." Ben casually ate his fruit, then reached for another. "That's something."

"I routinely remind her that she has better sense than to throw in her lot with you." Hux froze. Did he just say that to the supreme leader? He halfway expected to be thrown into a table, but Ren just smirked.

"Fair." Ren peeled the new fruit. "The new hair's good."

Hux self-consciously ran a hand through his long red locks. It was beginning to resemble Kylo Ren's hair. The thought set a bizarre blush about his cheeks. "Have you come to destroy us?" he asked.

One of Ren's eyebrows quirked in a way Hux had never seen before. "No. You know that." He sipped at his coffee and kicked his feet up on the table. "I'm here to protect you from the knights."

"The knights," Hux scoffed. "Filthy mercenaries."

Ren removed his feet from the table and leaned forward seriously. "We can be honest with each other, right?"

There was something very different about this man. Hux felt like he was a complete stranger, not the monster he spent years of his life alongside. "I imagine so. You've rummaged through my mind enough."

"They're going to execute me, aren't they?"

Hux snorted. "Who would try?"

Ben shrugged. "I deserve it. The resistance would be well within their rights."

Hux's heart thudded out of time. "No. If you die, I die. Keeping you alive is in my best interest. If they bring you to justice, I'll be implicated in our doings and we'll both hang."

"I'm tired of fighting. Rey can sort it out. I'll take the punishment."

Across the dining area, a trio of fighters were huddled together, watching them in dark interest. _Ah,_ Hux was certain they were thinking, _Kylo Ren and General Hux together again, their hostile takeover plans hatching over breakfast._

Hux tried to ignore them. "No, you won't. You stubborn ass. Can't you work with me for one kriffing time?" A thousand things passed through his mind. The colorful trees and incredible sky, the sounds of the birds and wildlife, the smells of coffee and native flora. Rey's warm caring company, Poe's thirst for life, Millicent's adoring gaze. "I refuse to die on account of you," Hux spat. "I left the First Order to get away from you!"

Ren shrugged and finished the rest of his breakfast.

"Besides," Hux snorted, hoping to bring the point home. "Your mother? Girlfriend? They're just so elated for the return of the prodigal son. No one will touch a hair on your head."

"Girlfriend?" Ben touched his abdomen and smirked. "You'd be surprised at what she would do."

"Rey? What would Rey do to anyone? She wouldn't hurt a womp rat."

Half of Ren's mouth lifted into a smile. "She killed me."

Hux paused. "Nonsense. You're sitting right in front of me."

Ren chuckled. It was a clumsy unpracticed sound. "She killed me with my own light saber." He drew a deep breath, as if testing he still could, then shrugged at Hux. "The Supreme Leader is dead."

His thoughts collided with one another. Was it possible to kill one persona from a body and free another? There _was_ something drastically different about the man sitting in front of him. He was still sarcastic and quick to roll his eyes, but he hadn't lifted a finger toward anyone or used the Force since he'd been in camp. Was this just one of Kylo Ren's more sinister tricks? Hux stared dumbly, unable to recover even when Leia joined them.

"General," Ben greeted her.

"Stop," Leia chuckled. "And quit telling people we're going to execute you." She gestured to Hux. "Is that what you're talking about?"

Hux nodded, his gaze still fixed on Ren's face. "Indeed," he managed. Finally he turned to Leia. If anyone knew their fate, it was her. "I've been telling him the same," Hux said. "He's done the right thing by joining us and that's what matters. He's more good to us here than dead. Isn't that right?" He held his breath, but not for long.

Leia shook her head and laughed. She clapped Hux on the shoulder. "You worry a lot."

"My last boss wasn't as competent as you are," he offered. "So his return doesn't mean I'm to be punished?"

"All that training gone to waste, huh?" Leia smirked. "We heard the First Order officers and leaders were fearless strategists incapable of human emotion." She raised an eyebrow. "I see it did a lot of good for you laser brains. You're both soft as a sack of pillows. Crylo Ren and General Hugs."

Ben's face twitched. Hux snorted, but tried to hold back. It started as a snicker, but the laughter caught on like wildfire. _How life changed_ , Hux thought as he laughed aloud. The man sitting across from him cackled along. For the first time, Armitage Hux wondered if Ben Solo might not be so awful after all.


End file.
